Pandas Get Total / Sum of Columns

To get the total or sum of a column use sum() method, and to add the result of the sum as a row to the DataFrame use loc[], at[], append() and pandas.Series() methods. In this article, I will explain how to get the total/sum for a given column with examples.

Key Points –

The sum() function is designed to aggregate data by calculating the total values across specified columns in a DataFrame.
By default, the sum() method operates on columns (axis=0), returning the sum for each column.
By default, sum() skips NaN (Not a Number) values. You can use the min_count parameter to control how many non-null values are required to perform the sum.
The sum() function works with numeric data types, allowing for the summation of integers and floats.
The sum() method can be chained with other DataFrame methods (like filter(), apply(), etc.) for more complex data manipulation and analysis.
You can assign the result of the sum calculation back to a new or existing column in the DataFrame.

Quick Examples of Get Total of Columns

If you are in a hurry, below are some quick examples of how to get the total of pandas DataFrame by a given or all column.


# Quick examples of get total of columns

# Example 1: Use DataFrame.sum() method
df2 = df['math'].sum()

# Example 2: Using DataFrame.sum() method 
df2 = sum(df['math'])

# Example 3: Use DataFrame.loc[] and pandas.Series() 
# To get total of columns
df.loc['Total'] = pd.Series(df['math'].sum(), index = ['math'])

# Example 4: Get total of columns 
# Using DataFrame.loc[] method
df.loc['Total'] = df["math"].sum()

# Example 5: Use DataFrame.loc[] & DataFrame.sum() method
df.loc["Total", "math"] = df.math.sum()

# Example 6: Use DataFrame.at[] method 
# To get total of columns
df.at['Total', "math"] = df["math"].sum()

 # Example 7: Use DataFrame.append() method
df2 = df.append(pd.DataFrame(df.math.sum(), index = ["Total"], columns=[ "math"]))

Now, let’s create a DataFrame with a few rows and columns, execute these examples, and validate the results. Our DataFrame contains column names studentname, math, science and english.


# Create Pandas DataFrame
import pandas as pd
studentdetails = {
       "studentname":["Ram","Sam","Scott","Ann","John"],
       "math" :[80,90,85,70,95],
       "science" :[85,95,80,90,75],
       "english" :[90,85,80,70,95]
              }
index_labels=['r1','r2','r3','r4','r5']
df = pd.DataFrame(studentdetails ,index=index_labels)
print("Create DataFrame:\n", df)

Yields below output.

Use DataFrame.sum() Method

You can use DataFrame.sum() method to calculate the sum/total of a column. The below example gets the total sum of math columns. Alternatively, you can also use the sum() method that takes the Series object as an argument.


# Use DataFrame.sum() method
math_sum = df['math'].sum()
print("Get the sum of matematics column:\n", math_sum)

# Using DataFrame.sum() method 
math_sum = sum(df['math'])
print("Get the sum of mathematics column:\n", math_sum)

Yields below output.

Use pandas.Series() to Get Total of Columns

Use pandas.Series() to create a sum row at the end of the DataFrame. The index should be set as the same as the specific column you need to sum.


# Use pandas.Series() to to create new row with sum
df.loc['Total'] = pd.Series(df['math'].sum(), index = ['math'])
print("Get the sum of mathematics column:\n", math_sum)

Yields below output.


# Output:
      studentname        math science  english
r1            Ram        80.0     85.0     90.0
r2            Sam        90.0     95.0     85.0
r3          Scott        85.0     80.0     80.0
r4            Ann        70.0     90.0     70.0
r5           John        95.0     75.0     95.0
Total         NaN       420.0      NaN      NaN

Get the Total of Columns Using the Series.sum() Method

Series.sum() gets you the sum of a column. This is equivalent to the method numpy.sum. You can assign the sum of a column to a DataFrame to create a row. Note that in this way, it creates the same value for each column. The next example solves this issue.


# Get total of columns using sum method
df.loc['Total'] = df["math"].sum()
print("Get the sum of mathematics column:\n", math_sum)

Yields below output.


# Output:
      studentname        math  science  english
r1            Ram          80       85       90
r2            Sam          90       95       85
r3          Scott          85       80       80
r4            Ann          70       90       70
r5           John          95       75       95
Total         420         420      420      420

Use DataFrame.loc[] & DataFrame.sum() Methods

You can use DataFrame.loc[] and DataFrame.sum() method to fix the above issue. In this, only the column you are getting sum with has total value and the other will have NaN value.


# Use DataFrame.loc[] & DataFrame.sum() Method
df.loc["Total", "math"] = df.math.sum()
print("Get the sum of mathematics column:\n", math_sum)

Yields below output.


# Output:
      studentname        math  science  english
r1            Ram        80.0     85.0     90.0
r2            Sam        90.0     95.0     85.0
r3          Scott        85.0     80.0     80.0
r4            Ann        70.0     90.0     70.0
r5           John        95.0     75.0     95.0
Total         NaN       420.0      NaN      NaN

Use DataFrame.at[] Method to Get Total of Columns

Alternatively, you can also use DataFrame.at[], This gives the same result as above.


# Use DataFrame.at[] method to get total of columns
df.at['Total', "math"] = df["math"].sum()
print(df)

Yields the same output as above.

Use DataFrame.append() Method

You can also use DataFrame.append() method to get the total of pandas columns added to the DataFrame.


# Use DataFrame.append() method
df2 = df.append(pd.DataFrame(df.math.sum(), index = ["Total"], columns=[ "math"]))
print("Get the sum of mathematics column:\n", math_sum)

Yields below output.


# Output:
      studentname        math  science  english
r1            Ram          80     85.0     90.0
r2            Sam          90     95.0     85.0
r3          Scott          85     80.0     80.0
r4            Ann          70     90.0     70.0
r5           John          95     75.0     95.0
Total         NaN         420      NaN      NaN

Complete Example For Getting Sum of Columns


import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
studentdetails = {
       "studentname":["Ram","Sam","Scott","Ann","John"],
       "mathematics" :[80,90,85,70,95],
       "science" :[85,95,80,90,75],
       "english" :[90,85,80,70,95]
              }
index_labels=['r1','r2','r3','r4','r5']
df = pd.DataFrame(studentdetails ,index=index_labels)

# Use DataFrame.sum() method
df2 = df['math'].sum()
print(df2)

# Using DataFrame.sum() method 
df2 = sum(df['math'])
print(df2)

# Use DataFrame.loc[] and pandas.Series() to get total of columns
df.loc['Total'] = pd.Series(df['mathematics'].sum(), index = ['mathematics'])
print(df)

# Get total of columns using DataFrame.loc[] method
df.loc['Total'] = df["math"].sum()
print(df)

# Use DataFrame.loc[] & DataFrame.sum() Method
df.loc["Total", "math"] = df.math.sum()
print(df)

# Use DataFrame.at[] method to get total of columns
df.at['Total', "math"] = df["math"].sum()
print(df)

# Use DataFrame.append() method
df2 = df.append(pd.DataFrame(df.math.sum(), index = ["Total"], columns=[ "math"]))
print(df2)

Conclusion

In this article, you have learned how to get the total of columns by using DataFrame.sum(), DataFrame.loc[],DataFrame.at[], DataFrame.append() and pandas.Series() for all or given columns with examples.

Happy Learning !!

Pandas Get Total / Sum of Columns

Quick Examples of Get Total of Columns

Use DataFrame.sum() Method

Use pandas.Series() to Get Total of Columns

Get the Total of Columns Using the Series.sum() Method

Use DataFrame.loc[] & DataFrame.sum() Methods

Use DataFrame.at[] Method to Get Total of Columns

Use DataFrame.append() Method

Complete Example For Getting Sum of Columns

Conclusion

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