Calculating Sum of Elements of Python List

To calculate the sum of the elements of a Python list, you can use the built-in sum(iterable, start) method. The sum() method takes an iteration as its first argument and an optional starting number as the second argument sums the items, and returns the result. The optional "start" argument adds the specified value to the result (defaults to 0). If the elements are not numbers, a TypeError exception will be thrown. In this Python Sum of List example, we calculate the sum of the list elements using the sum() method and add an initial value to the result, passing it as the second argument. Click Execute to run Python Calculate List Sum Example online and see the result.
Calculating Sum of Elements of Python List Execute
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

print(sum(my_list, 100))
Updated: Viewed: 2796 times

Python List Sum Syntax

Following is the syntax of the sum() method:

Python sum() Example
sum(iterable, start)

Where:
  • iterable: the list where the elements of the iteration must be numbers
  • start (optional): the initial value to add to the result. If not specified, the default is 0.

See also