Python Get the Last Element of a List

Have you ever needed to get the last element of a list in Python, but weren’t sure of the best way to do it? There are several different methods you can use. In this article, we will discuss these methods in detail and provide code examples for each.

1. Quick Examples of Getting Last Element of List

These quick examples give a high-level overview of the methods that can be used to get the last element of a list. These examples will give a quick introduction to each method we will discuss each detail later on.


# Quick examples of getting last element of list

# Example 1: Using negative indexing 
# To get the last element
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
last_element = my_list[-1]
print(last_element)

# Example 2: Using the pop() method 
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
last_element = my_list.pop()
print(last_element)

# Example 3: Using list slicing 
# To get the last element
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
last_element = my_list[-1:]
print(last_element)

# Example 4: Using a list comprehension 
# To get the last element
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
last_element = [x for x in my_list if x == my_list[-1]][0]
print(last_element)

2. Get Last Element of the List using Indexing

In Python, you can get the last element by using -1 as the index value of the list. This is the most common method for getting the last element of a list in Python.

Lists in Python are zero-indexed, which means that the first element has an index of 0, the second element has an index of 1, and so on. To get the last element of a list using indexing, you should use index -1. This index refers to the last element of the list.


# Get last element of the list
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
last_element = my_list[-1]
print("Getting the last element of the list:",last_element)

Yields below output.

3. Get Last 2 Elements of the List

One of the simplest ways to get the last two elements of a list is to use negative indexing with a list slice. we use negative indexing to access the second-to-last element of the list with the index -2, and then slice the list from that index to the end of the list using the slice notation -2:.

See the following example:


# Get Last 2 Elements of the List
last_two_elements = my_list[-2:]
print(last_two_elements)

# Output
# [4,5]

4. Using pop() to Get Last Element

The pop() method is a commonly used method in Python lists that removes and returns the last element of a list. We can use this method to get the last element of a list. The pop() method returns the value of the item that was removed.

In the below example, my_list.pop() removes the last element (5) from the list, and the value is assigned to the variable last_element.


# Using pop()
last_element = my_list.pop()
print(last_element)

# Output:
# 5

The pop() method modifies the original list, so we should only use this method when it is okay to update the original list.


# Using pop()
last_element = my_list.pop()
print(last_element)
print(my_list)

# Output:
# 5
# [1, 2, 3, 4]

Keep in mind that using pop() modifies the original list. If the list is empty, pop() will raise an IndexError, so it’s a good idea to check the list’s length before using pop() if the list might be empty.

5. List Slicing Get Last Element as a List

If we want to extract only the last element of a list using slicing, we can specify an index of -1 as the starting index and leave the end index unspecified.

In the below example, my_list[-1:] creates a new list containing only the last element. The [-1:] slice starts from the last element and goes to the end of the list.


# List slicing to get last element
last_element = my_list[-1:]
print(last_element)

# Output:
# [5]

We use the [-1:] syntax to extract a subset of the list starting from the last element and going all the way to the end of the list. This syntax returns a new list with only one element, which is the last element of the original list.

List slicing can be less efficient than using indexing or the pop() method, especially when dealing with large lists. This is because list slicing creates a new list, which can take up additional memory and processing time.

6. Using List comprehension

To get the last element of a list using list comprehension, we can create a new list containing only the last element of the original list.


# Using list comprehension
last_element = [x for x in my_list if x == my_list[-1]]
print(last_element)

# Output:
# [5]

We use list comprehension to create a new list containing only the last element of the original list. it allows us to perform additional transformations or filters on the data, if needed.

7. Fastest Method – indexing, pop(), and list slicing

In the above sections, we have discussed all these three methods. Let’s draw a run time comparison between these methods. On my machine the pop() and indexing methods almost took the same time. while the list slicing method took twice.


import timeit

# Using Indexing
def index_method():
    my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
    last_element = my_list[-1]

# Using pop() method
def pop_method():
    my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
    last_element = my_list.pop()

# Using list slicing
def slice_method():
    my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
    last_element = my_list[-1:]

print("indexing :", timeit.timeit(index_method, number=1000000))
print("pop() :", timeit.timeit(pop_method, number=1000000))
print("list slicing :", timeit.timeit(slice_method, number=1000000))

Yields the following output. Here I use timeit to measure the time of each method.


# Output:
indexing : 2.889351800084114
pop() : 3.3347120999824256
list slicing : 4.0966389999957755

Frequently Asked Questions on Get the Last Element of a List in Python

How do I get the last element of a list in Python?

There are multiple ways to get the last element of a list. Two common methods are using negative indexing (my_list[-1]) or positive indexing with the length of the list (my_list[len(my_list)-1]).

What is negative indexing in Python?

Negative indexing allows you to access elements from the end of a list. The index -1 represents the last element, -2 represents the second-to-last element, and so on.

Can I use list slicing to get the last element?

You can use list slicing to get the last element of a list in Python. For example, my_list[-1:] creates a new list containing only the last element of my_list. The slice [-1:] starts from the last element and goes to the end of the list.

What is the pop() method, and how can I use it to get the last element?

The pop() method is a built-in method in Python that removes and returns the last element from a list. It can be used to both retrieve and remove the last element simultaneously. For example, my_list.pop() removes the last element (5) from the list, and the value is assigned to the variable last_element

Why would I use list comprehension to get the last element?

While less common for getting the last element alone, list comprehension can be useful when you need to filter or transform elements based on specific conditions.

Which method is more efficient for getting the last element?

Directly using my_list[-1] is generally more efficient than other methods like list comprehension for this specific task. It’s concise and specifically designed for accessing the last element.

Summary and Conclusion

We have covered multiple ways to get the last element of a list in Python. Among them we learned a simple indexing approach, using the pop() method, list slicing, and list comprehension. If you have any queries please feel free to leave a comment below.

Happy coding!!