Get key with maximum value in Dictionary

Given a dictionary, our task is to find the key having the maximum value. For Example: We are given a dictionary d = {'Audi':100, 'BMW':1292, 'Jaguar': 210000, 'Hyundai' : 88} then the output will be Jaguar as it is the key with maximum value in dictionary.

Using max() with a Key Function

In this method we will use the built-in max() function to identify the key with the highest value in the dictionary and by specifying key=d.get we can ensure that the comparison is based on the dictionary values rather than the keys.

d = {'Audi':100, 'BMW':1292, 'Jaguar': 210000, 'Hyundai' : 88}
res = max(d, key=d.get)
print(res)

Jaguar

Explanation: max() function is used to find the maximum element where key=d.get ensures the comparison is made based on the values (not keys).

Using sorted()

We use the sorted() function to sort the dictionary by its values in descending order and then pick the first key from the sorted list which will correspond to the maximum value.

d = {'Audi':100, 'BMW':1292, 'Jaguar': 210000, 'Hyundai' : 88}
res = sorted(d, key=d.get, reverse=True)[0]
print(res)

Jaguar

Explanation: sorted() function sorts the dictionary keys based on their values using key=d.get and setting reverse=True to sort in descending order and the first key in the sorted list is the one with the highest value.

Using a Loop

We iterate through each key-value pair in the dictionary comparing the value of each pair with the current maximum value. The key with the highest value is stored and returned at the end of the loop.

d = {'Audi':100, 'BMW':1292, 'Jaguar': 210000, 'Hyundai' : 88}
mk = None # max_key
mv = float('-inf') # max_value

for k, v in d.items():
    if v > mv:
        mv = v
        mk = k

print(mk)

Jaguar

Explanation:

• We initialize max_value(mv) as negative infinity and max_key(mk) as None.
• In the loop, we compare each dictionary value with max_value and update both max_value and max_key when a larger value is found.

Using max() with a Lambda Function

We use the max() function with a lambda function to access the dictionary values, this allows us to find the key associated with the maximum value.

d = {'Audi':100, 'BMW':1292, 'Jaguar': 210000, 'Hyundai' : 88}
res = max(d, key=lambda k: d[k])
print(res)

Jaguar

Explanation:

• lambda function returns the value corresponding to each key (d[k]).
• max() function then compares the values returning the key with the maximum value.

Related Articles:

• Python – max() function
• Python sorted() Function
• Loops in Python
• lambda function