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Python Program to Sort a List in Descending Order

Beginner · Searching and sorting

Descending order runs from the largest value to the smallest. This program sorts numbers and names in descending order with reverse=True, and shows the difference between sorted(), which makes a new list, and sort(), which changes the list itself.

Program

sort_descending.py
numbers = [42, 7, 19, 88, 3, 56] # or: numbers = [int(x) for x in input("Enter numbers: ").split()]
# sorted() returns a new list and leaves the original alone
descending = sorted(numbers, reverse=True)
print("Original list:", numbers)
print("Descending order:", descending)
# sort() changes the list itself
numbers.sort(reverse=True)
print("After numbers.sort(reverse=True):", numbers)
# Names: capital letters sort before small ones
names = ["Meera", "arjun", "Zoya", "Kabir"]
print("Names, Z to A:", sorted(names, reverse=True))
print("Ignoring case:", sorted(names, key=str.lower, reverse=True))
Output
Original list: [42, 7, 19, 88, 3, 56]
Descending order: [88, 56, 42, 19, 7, 3]
After numbers.sort(reverse=True): [88, 56, 42, 19, 7, 3]
Names, Z to A: ['arjun', 'Zoya', 'Meera', 'Kabir']
Ignoring case: ['Zoya', 'Meera', 'Kabir', 'arjun']

How it works

  1. reverse=True tells sorted() and sort() to put the largest value first.
  2. sorted(numbers, ...) returns a new list, so numbers is still in its original order when it is printed.
  3. numbers.sort(...) sorts the list in place and returns None, so do not write numbers = numbers.sort().
  4. Strings compare by character codes, and every capital letter comes before every small letter, so "arjun" is placed first in Z to A order.
  5. key=str.lower compares the names as if they were all small letters, which gives the order people expect.

Other ways to write it

Without sort functions

Without sort functions
numbers = [42, 7, 19, 88, 3, 56]
for i in range(len(numbers)):
for j in range(i + 1, len(numbers)):
if numbers[j] > numbers[i]: # a bigger number moves to the front
numbers[i], numbers[j] = numbers[j], numbers[i]
print("Descending order:", numbers)
Output
Descending order: [88, 56, 42, 19, 7, 3]

Each position i is compared with every later position, and any bigger number is swapped forward, so the largest values collect at the front.

Sort ascending, then reverse

Sort ascending, then reverse
numbers = [42, 7, 19, 88, 3, 56]
numbers.sort()
numbers.reverse()
print("Descending order:", numbers)
print("Using slicing:", sorted([42, 7, 19, 88, 3, 56])[::-1])
Output
Descending order: [88, 56, 42, 19, 7, 3]
Using slicing: [88, 56, 42, 19, 7, 3]

Sorting from smallest to largest and then reversing gives the same result in two steps.

Try it yourself

Sort the list [3.5, -2, 10, 0, 7.25] in descending order and check where the negative number ends up.

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