Comparison Operators in Python
Comparison operators are used to compare two values.
They always return a Boolean value:
- True if the condition is satisfied.
- False if the condition is not satisfied.
1. == (Equal to)
The equal to (==) operator checks if the values on both sides are equal.
Example:
Python
a = 10 b = 10 c = 20 print(a == b) # True → because 10 equals 10 print(a == c) # False → because 10 is not equal to 20
The output of the above code is shown below:
True False
Returns: True if equal, else False.
2. != (Not equal to)
The not equal to operator checks if the values on both sides are not equal.
Example:
Python
a = 10 b = 20 c = 10 print(a != b) # True → because 10 is not equal to 20 print(a != c) # False → because 10 equals 10
The output of the above code is shown below:
True False
Returns: True if not equal, else False.
3. > (Greater than)
The greater than operator checks if the left value is greater than the right value.
Example:
Python
a = 15 b = 10 c = 20 print(a > b) # True → because 15 > 10 print(a > c) # False → because 15 is not greater than 20
The output of the above code is shown below:
True False
Returns: True if greater, else False.
4. < (Less than)
The less than operator checks if the left value is smaller than the right value.
Example:
Python
a = 5 b = 10 c = 2 print(a < b) # True → because 5 < 10 print(a < c) # False → because 5 is not less than 2
The output of the above code is shown below:
True False
Returns: True if smaller, else False.
5. >= (Greater than or equal to)
The greater than or equal to operator checks if the left value is greater than or equal to the right value.
Example:
Python
a = 10 b = 10 c = 5 print(a >= b) # True → because 10 is equal to 10 print(a >= c) # True → because 10 > 5 print(c >= a) # False → because 5 is not >= 10
The output of the above code is shown below:
True True False
Returns: True if greater or equal, else False.
6. <= (Less than or equal to)
The less than or equal to operator checks if the left value is less than or equal to the right value.
Example:
Python
a = 10 b = 10 c = 15 print(a <= b) # True → because 10 is equal to 10 print(a <= c) # True → because 10 < 15 print(c <= a) # False → because 15 is not <= 10
The output of the above code is shown below:
True True False
Returns: True if smaller or equal, else False.
Special Notes 1. Works with numbers, strings, and other data types.
Python
print("apple" == "apple") # True print("apple" < "banana") # True (because 'a' < 'b')
2. Used in conditions and loops:
Python
if a < b: print("a is smaller")
3. Returns True/False which can be stored in variables:
Python
result = (a > b) print(result) # False