Numpy – Get Min Value in Array

The Numpy library in Python comes with a number of built-in functions to help get common descriptive statistics like max, min, mean, median, etc. from arrays. In this tutorial, we will look at how to get the min value in a Numpy array with the help of some examples.

How to find the min value of a Numpy array?

You can use the Numpy amin() function to get the min value of a Numpy array. Pass the array as an argument to the function. The following is the syntax –

# min value in numpy array ar
numpy.amin(ar)

It returns the minimum value in the array. You can also use the Numpy amin() function to get the minimum value along a particular axis in a Numpy array (useful for 2-D or higher dimension arrays).

Note – The numpy.min() function is an alias for the numpy.amin() function. Thus, you can use anyone based on your preference to get the minimum value in an array or the minimum value along a particular axis in the array.

Steps to Find the Min Value in Numpy Array

Let’s now look at a step-by-step example of using the above syntax to get the minimum value in a Numpy array.

Step 1 – Create a Numpy array

First, we will create a Numpy array that we will be using throughout this tutorial. If you already have a Numpy array to operate on, skip this step.

import numpy as np

# create numpy array
ar = np.array([3, 5, 2, 1, 4])
# display the array
print(ar)

Output:

[3 5 2 1 4]

Here, we used the numpy.array() function to create a Numpy array of some integer values. You can see that the min value in the above array is 1.

Step 2 – Find the min value in the array using numpy.amin()

Pass the array as an argument to the Numpy amin() function to get its minimum value.

# min value in numpy array
print(np.amin(ar))

Output:

1

We get the minimum value in the array as 1 which is the correct answer.

You can also use the Numpy min() function (which is an alias for the Numpy amin() function) to get the minimum value of a Numpy array.

# min value in numpy array
print(np.min(ar))

Output:

1

We get the same result as above.

Summary – Find the Min Value of Numpy Array

In this tutorial, we looked at how to find the minimum value in a Numpy array. Some of the key takeaways from this tutorial are –

• Use the numpy.amin() function to get the min value in a Numpy array. You can also use it to get the min value along a particular axis in the array.
• Alternatively, you can also use the numpy.min() function which is an alias for the numpy.amin() function.

You might also be interested in –

• Numpy – Get Index of Max Value in Array
• Different ways to Create NumPy Arrays