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8 Ways to Convert List to Dataframe in Python (with code)

  • Dec 04, 2023
  • 5 Minute Read
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  • By Shivali Bhadaniya
8 Ways to Convert List to Dataframe in Python (with code)

Converting a list to a DataFrame can be very useful for a number of scenarios. In this article, we will study different ways to convert the list to the data frame in Python. This also answers how to create a pandas data frame from the list. But before that, let's revise what is a list and a dataframe?

What is a List?

The list is one of the most important data types of Python. It is written as the list of comma-separated values inside the square brackets. The most important advantage of the list is the elements inside the list are not compulsorily of the same data type along with negative indexing. Also, we can create a nested list i.e. list containing another list. Here is an example:

# creating a list of items with different data types

sample_list = [10,"favtutor",['A','B']]

print(sample_list)

 

Output:

[10, 'favtutor', ['A', 'B']]

 

What is a DataFrame?

Pandas is a software library written for Python programming, useful in data manipulation and analysis. Pandas Dataframe is a two-dimensional tabular data structure with labeled axes (rows and columns). They are amazing when working with data, including indexing, filtering, grouping, merging, reshaping, and more. See the example below:

import pandas as pd

# list of strings

lst = ['fav', 'tutor', 'coding', 'skills']
df = pd.DataFrame(lst)
print(df)

 

Output:

       0
0     fav
1   tutor
2  coding
3  skills

 

How to Convert List to DataFrame in Python?

As we discussed, DataFrames are used for data manipulation. So, you can easily perform operations on data if the list is converted to a dataframe. Also, a DataFrame showcases the data tabular format that is easier to read than a list.  We will now look at  8 different methods to convert lists from data frames in Python. Let us study them one by one with examples:

1) Basic Method

Let's start with the most basic method to solve the problem and make a data frame out of a list.

We can use the DataFrame constructor to convert a list into a DataFrame in Python. It takes the list as input, and then, each inner list represents a row of the DataFrame. This constructor is a class method of the Pandas DataFrame class.

Example:

# import pandas as pd 

import pandas as pd 
# list of strings 
lst = ['fav', 'tutor', 'coding', 'skills']
# Calling DataFrame constructor on list 
df = pd.DataFrame(lst) 
print(df) 

 

Output:

       0
0     fav
1   tutor
2  coding
3  skills

 

2) Using a list with index & column names

We can create the data frame by giving the name to the column and indexing the rows. Here we also used the same DataFrame constructor as above.

Example:

# import pandas as pd 

import pandas as pd 
# List1 
lst = [['apple', 'red', 11], ['grape', 'green', 22], ['orange', 'orange', 33], ['mango', 'yellow', 44]] 
df = pd.DataFrame(lst, columns =['Fruits', 'Color', 'Value'], dtype = float) 
print(df) 

 

Output:

  tutorial
1      fav
2    tutor
3   coding
4   skills

 

3) Using zip() function

We can create the data frame by zipping two lists. The zip() is a built-in function that takes two or more lists as arguments and returns a list where the elements of the same index in the lists are paired together.

Example:

 # import pandas as pd 

import pandas as pd 
# list of strings 
lst1 = ['fav', 'tutor', 'coding', 'skills']
# list of int 
lst2 = [11, 22, 33, 44] 
# Calling DataFrame after zipping both lists, with columns specified 
df = pd.DataFrame(list(zip(lst1, lst2)), columns =['key', 'value']) 
print(df) 

 

Output:

      key  value
0     fav     11
1   tutor     22
2  coding     33
3  skills     44

 

4) Creating from the multi-dimensional list

We can create a data frame using multi-dimensional lists. We used the same DataFrame constructor here. Each inner list represents a row in the following example.

Example:

 # import pandas as pd 

import pandas as pd 
# List1 
lst = [['fav', 11], ['tutor', 22], ['coding', 33], ['skills', 44]] 
df = pd.DataFrame(lst, columns =['key', 'values']) 
print(df) 

 

Output:

      key  values
0     fav      11
1   tutor      22
2  coding      33
3  skills      44

 

5) Using multi-dimensional list with column name

We can create the data frames by specifying the column name and dtype of them. Here the columns name is additional row for better understanding.

Example:

  # import pandas as pd 

import pandas as pd 
# List1 
lst = [['apple', 'red', 11], ['grape', 'green', 22], ['orange', 'orange', 33], ['mango', 'yellow', 44]] 
df = pd.DataFrame(lst, columns =['Fruits', 'Color', 'Value'], dtype = float) 
print(df) 

 

Output:

   Fruits   Color  Value
0   apple     red   11.0
1   grape   green   22.0
2  orange  orange   33.0
3   mango  yellow   44.0

 

6) Using a list in the dictionary

We can create data frames using lists in the dictionary. First we create a dictionary of lists and then use the constructor and input the dictionary as the argument.

Example:

# import pandas as pd 

import pandas as pd 
# list of name, degree, score 
n = ["apple", "grape", "orange", "mango"] 
col = ["red", "green", "orange", "yellow"] 
val = [11, 22, 33, 44] 
# dictionary of lists 
dict = {'fruit': n, 'color': col, 'value': val}  
df = pd.DataFrame(dict) 
print(df) 

 

Output:

    fruit   color  value
0   apple     red     11
1   grape   green     22
2  orange  orange     33
3   mango  yellow     44

 

7) Converting nested lists into a dataFrame 

You can use the pandas DataFrame constructor and pass the list of lists as the data parameter to convert it to a DataFrame. The columns parameter can also be used to specify the column names. Here's an example:

import pandas as pd
new_list = [['Anurag', 'btr001'], ["Bhumika", 'btr002'], ['Chirag', 'btr003']]
df = pd.DataFrame(new_list, columns=['Students', 'Roll Number'])
print(df)

 

Output:

   Students Roll Number
0   Anurag      btr001
1  bhumika      btr002
2   chriag      btr003

 

8) Converting mulitple lists into a dataFrame

To turn multiple lists into a DataFrame, you can use the zip function to combine the lists and then pass the result to the pandas DataFrame constructor.

Example:

import pandas as pd
std = ['Anurag','bhumika','chriag']
rn = ['btr001','btr002','btr003']
df = pd.DataFrame(list(zip(std, rn)), columns=['Students', 'Roll Number'])
print(df)

 

Output:

  Students Roll Number
0   Anurag      btr001
1  bhumika      btr002
2   chriag      btr003

 

Also learn, how to convert list to string in python.

Conclusion

Now we discussed all the methods to create dataframes from a list in python. While working with a large set of data, this become an important task because dataframe provides such an easy format to access the data effectively and efficiently.

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About The Author
Shivali Bhadaniya
I'm Shivali Bhadaniya, a computer engineer student and technical content writer, very enthusiastic to learn and explore new technologies and looking towards great opportunities. It is amazing for me to share my knowledge through my content to help curious minds.