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You can use the following syntax to quickly change the order of columns in a pandas DataFrame:
df[['column2', 'column3', 'column1']]
The following examples show how to use this syntax with the following pandas DataFrame:
import pandas as pd #create new DataFrame df = pd.DataFrame({'points': [25, 12, 15, 14, 19, 23, 25, 29], 'assists': [5, 7, 7, 9, 12, 9, 9, 4], 'rebounds': [11, 8, 10, 6, 6, 5, 9, 12]}) #display DataFrame df points assists rebounds 0 25 5 11 1 12 7 8 2 15 7 10 3 14 9 6 4 19 12 6 5 23 9 5 6 25 9 9 7 29 4 12
Example 1: Change the Order of Columns by Name
The following code shows how to change the order of the columns in the DataFrame based on name:
#change order of columns by name
df[['rebounds', 'assists', 'points']]
rebounds assists points
0 11 5 25
1 8 7 12
2 10 7 15
3 6 9 14
4 6 12 19
5 5 9 23
6 9 9 25
7 12 4 29
Example 2: Change the Order by Adding New First Column
The following code shows how to change the order of the columns in the DataFrame by inserting a new column in the first position:
#define new column to add
steals = [2, 3, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2]
#insert new column in first position
df.insert(0, 'steals', steals)
#display dataFrame
df
steals points assists rebounds
0 2 25 5 11
1 3 12 7 8
2 3 15 7 10
3 4 14 9 6
4 3 19 12 6
5 2 23 9 5
6 1 25 9 9
7 2 29 4 12 Example 3: Change the Order by Adding New Last Column
The following code shows how to change the order of the columns in the DataFrame by inserting a new column in the last position of the DataFrame:
#define new column to add
steals = [2, 3, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2]
#insert new column in last position
df.insert(len(df.columns), 'steals', steals)
#display dataFrame
df
points assists rebounds steals
0 25 5 11 2
1 12 7 8 3
2 15 7 10 3
3 14 9 6 4
4 19 12 6 3
5 23 9 5 2
6 25 9 9 1
7 29 4 12 2
Additional Resources
How to Insert a Column Into a Pandas DataFrame
How to Drop the Index Column in Pandas
How to Combine Two Columns in Pandas