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This problem is killing me. How does one roundup a number UP in Python?

I tried round(number) but it round the number down. Example:

round(2.3) = 2.0 and not 3, what I would like

The I tried int(number + .5) but it round the number down again! Example:

int(2.3 + .5) = 2

Then I tried round(number + .5) but it won't work in edge cases. Example:

WAIT! THIS WORKED!

Please advise.

wp-overwatch.com
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bodacydo
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    `round(number + .5)` doesn't work if the number is integer. `round(3+.5) == 4`, when you actually want `3`. – Nearoo Jan 27 '19 at 16:47

26 Answers26

989

The ceil (ceiling) function:

import math
print(int(math.ceil(4.2)))
Charlie Parker
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Steve Tjoa
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    Elaboration: math.ceil returns the smallest integer which is greater than or equal to the input value. This function treats the input as a float (Python does not have strongly-typed variables) and the function returns a float. If you want an int, you can construct an int from the return value, i.e., `int(math.ceil(363))` – R. W. Sinnet Aug 26 '15 at 23:37
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    @Sinnet: Actually one could say that python is strongly typed http://stackoverflow.com/a/11328980/5069869 – Bernhard Jan 08 '16 at 12:54
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    @TheEspinosa: Yes, python is definitely **strongly** typed, its just that many functions ask questions about the type of some parameters and execute different code depending on the answer. – quamrana Dec 17 '17 at 12:27
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    @R.W.Sinnet In Python 3, `math.ceil` returns an actual integer object, not just floating object with integer value. – Arthur Tacca May 02 '18 at 15:50
  • Take care of float precision, due to ``10000000 * 0.00136 = 13600.000000000002`` ceil can increase a lot ``math.ceil(10000000 * 0.00136) = 13601.0`` – ofthestreet Sep 10 '19 at 08:23
222

I know this answer is for a question from a while back, but if you don't want to import math and you just want to round up, this works for me.

>>> int(21 / 5)
4
>>> int(21 / 5) + (21 % 5 > 0)
5

The first part becomes 4 and the second part evaluates to "True" if there is a remainder, which in addition True = 1; False = 0. So if there is no remainder, then it stays the same integer, but if there is a remainder it adds 1.

user3074620
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169

Interesting Python 2.x issue to keep in mind:

>>> import math
>>> math.ceil(4500/1000)
4.0
>>> math.ceil(4500/1000.0)
5.0

The problem is that dividing two ints in python produces another int and that's truncated before the ceiling call. You have to make one value a float (or cast) to get a correct result.

In javascript, the exact same code produces a different result:

console.log(Math.ceil(4500/1000));
5
Ron
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TrophyGeek
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    In **Python 2.x** : int/int --> int _and_ int/float --> float In **Python 3.x** : int/int can result in a float – gecco Oct 31 '11 at 06:46
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    you can get the Python 3.x on behavior on certain versions of Python 2.x by enabling "true division" as shown [here](http://stackoverflow.com/a/1267892/171094) – Rob Dennis Oct 22 '13 at 17:54
132

If working with integers, one way of rounding up is to take advantage of the fact that // rounds down: Just do the division on the negative number, then negate the answer. No import, floating point, or conditional needed.

rounded_up = -(-numerator // denominator)

For example:

>>> print(-(-101 // 5))
21
David Bau
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    What about when you don't need to perform any math operation? I.e. you just have one number. – Klik Sep 08 '16 at 06:33
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    @Klik: then you can just divide by 1 ==> -( -num // 1) and you are getting your answer :-) Have a nice day! David Bau: very nice proposal! – Marco smdm Apr 04 '17 at 08:57
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    I timed all the answers in here and this was five times faster than the next best (math.ceil). @Andreas had the same time – Gavin Achtemeier Jul 20 '17 at 18:23
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    @minitotent That is not surprising since it's simple integer division and a couple of single-cycle operations. This is the sort of answer that gets you a job: Understanding not only the language, but all the layers of abstractions beneath it. – Nearoo Jan 06 '19 at 18:44
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    Nice! I've always used `(num + den - 1) // den`, which is fine for `int` inputs with positive denominators, but fails if even a single non-integral `float` is involved (either numerator or denominator); this is more magical looking, but works for both `int`s and `float`s. For small numerators, it's also faster (on CPython 3.7.2), though oddly, when only the numerator is large enough that array based math is needed, your approach is slower; not clear why this is, since the division work should be similar and two unary negations should be cheaper than addition + subtraction. – ShadowRanger Aug 07 '19 at 16:17
  • The fact that it doesn't need any import and is fast makes it exactly what i was looking for. – Ehsan Fathi Apr 14 '20 at 13:59
64

You might also like numpy:

>>> import numpy as np
>>> np.ceil(2.3)
3.0

I'm not saying it's better than math, but if you were already using numpy for other purposes, you can keep your code consistent.

Anyway, just a detail I came across. I use numpy a lot and was surprised it didn't get mentioned, but of course the accepted answer works perfectly fine.

chrisbunney
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Lisa
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    Using numpy is nice too. The easiest would be with math since it is already part of python built in libraries. It makes more sense. Instead as you mentioned if you use a lot numpy for other issues, then it makes sense and consistent to use numpy.ceil :-) Good hint! – Marco smdm Apr 04 '17 at 08:52
34

Use math.ceil to round up:

>>> import math
>>> math.ceil(5.4)
6.0

NOTE: The input should be float.

If you need an integer, call int to convert it:

>>> int(math.ceil(5.4))
6

BTW, use math.floor to round down and round to round to nearest integer.

>>> math.floor(4.4), math.floor(4.5), math.floor(5.4), math.floor(5.5)
(4.0, 4.0, 5.0, 5.0)
>>> round(4.4), round(4.5), round(5.4), round(5.5)
(4.0, 5.0, 5.0, 6.0)
>>> math.ceil(4.4), math.ceil(4.5), math.ceil(5.4), math.ceil(5.5)
(5.0, 5.0, 6.0, 6.0)
Aminah Nuraini
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kennytm
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    The input does not necessarily need to be a float if using python 3: `ceil()` [will take care of it](https://docs.python.org/3.6/library/math.html#math.ceil) internally – guival Feb 24 '17 at 10:33
15

I am surprised nobody suggested

(numerator + denominator - 1) // denominator

for integer division with rounding up. Used to be the common way for C/C++/CUDA (cf. divup)

Andreas Schuh
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    Relevant only for statically typed languages. If the denominator is a float you're dead. – Bharel Jul 06 '17 at 12:31
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    This also only works consistently if the denominator is positive; if the denominator is negative, you need to add `1` instead of subtracting it, or flip the signs of both numerator and denominator before performing the math. – ShadowRanger Aug 07 '19 at 16:28
  • @Bharel obviously not true. Python has types and you may even check it for a value. This code will work fine for int. This is also worth noting that this code will work even for integers greater than 2^53 in which case floating point arithmetic might fail to produce correct result. – Nolan Jan 23 '21 at 10:48
12

The syntax may not be as pythonic as one might like, but it is a powerful library.

https://docs.python.org/2/library/decimal.html

from decimal import *
print(int(Decimal(2.3).quantize(Decimal('1.'), rounding=ROUND_UP)))
NuclearPeon
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9

Try this:

a = 211.0
print(int(a) + ((int(a) - a) != 0))
Tom Aranda
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user3712978
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    Clever. The `((int(a) - a) != 0)` expression returns `1` whenever `a` needs to be rounded up. You may want to expand your answer and explain how this work. – Tom Aranda Dec 04 '17 at 23:01
  • @TomAranda Can anyone explain how a boolean expression evaluates to a value please? – Bowen Liu Dec 18 '18 at 20:51
8

For those who want to round up a / b and get integer:

Another variant using integer division is

def int_ceil(a, b):
    return (a - 1) // b + 1

>>> int_ceil(19, 5)
4
>>> int_ceil(20, 5)
4
>>> int_ceil(21, 5)
5
Pavel
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7

Be shure rounded value should be float

a = 8 
b = 21
print math.ceil(a / b)
>>> 0

but

print math.ceil(float(a) / b)
>>> 1.0
Alexey
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7

The above answers are correct, however, importing the math module just for this one function usually feels like a bit of an overkill for me. Luckily, there is another way to do it:

g = 7/5
g = int(g) + (not g.is_integer())

True and False are interpreted as 1 and 0 in a statement involving numbers in python. g.is_interger() basically translates to g.has_no_decimal() or g == int(g). So the last statement in English reads round g down and add one if g has decimal.

Nearoo
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    And if you feel fancy, you can use `int(g) + (g % 1 > 0)` instead ;-) – Nearoo May 05 '17 at 03:23
  • ```from math import ceil``` seems to fix importing the entire math module :) – SH7890 Jan 25 '19 at 21:50
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    @SH7890 I'm afraid that line isn't much different to `import math` in terms of what happens behind the scenes. It just drops all symbols except `ceil`. – Nearoo Jan 27 '19 at 16:52
5

Without importing math // using basic envionment:

a) method / class method

def ceil(fl): 
  return int(fl) + (1 if fl-int(fl) else 0)

def ceil(self, fl): 
  return int(fl) + (1 if fl-int(fl) else 0)

b) lambda:

ceil = lambda fl:int(fl)+(1 if fl-int(fl) else 0)
5
>>> def roundup(number):
...     return round(number+.5)
>>> roundup(2.3)
3
>>> roundup(19.00000000001)
20

This function requires no modules.

PonasM
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    What if your number is `3`, then it would round up to `4` which may or may not be what someone wants – buydadip Oct 20 '18 at 23:01
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    This only works in 99% of all cases. You didn't think this through properly. Such solutions should be avoided at all costs. – Nearoo Jan 06 '19 at 18:47
5

In case anyone is looking to round up to a specific decimal place:

import math
def round_up(n, decimals=0):
    multiplier = 10 ** decimals
    return math.ceil(n * multiplier) / multiplier
osuwireless
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1

I'm surprised I haven't seen this answer yet round(x + 0.4999), so I'm going to put it down. Note that this works with any Python version. Changes made to the Python rounding scheme has made things difficult. See this post.

Without importing, I use:

def roundUp(num):
    return round(num + 0.49)

testCases = list(x*0.1 for x in range(0, 50))

print(testCases)
for test in testCases:
    print("{:5.2f}  -> {:5.2f}".format(test, roundUp(test)))

Why this works

From the docs

For the built-in types supporting round(), values are rounded to the closest multiple of 10 to the power minus n; if two multiples are equally close, rounding is done toward the even choice

Therefore 2.5 gets rounded to 2 and 3.5 gets rounded to 4. If this was not the case then rounding up could be done by adding 0.5, but we want to avoid getting to the halfway point. So, if you add 0.4999 you will get close, but with enough margin to be rounded to what you would normally expect. Of course, this will fail if the x + 0.4999 is equal to [n].5000, but that is unlikely.

Community
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Klik
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    Using 0.4999, it will fail to give a correct result for any input in between ???.0000 and ???.0001 (open interval), not just exactly ???.0001. For instance, if you try it with 3.00005, you will get a result of 3 instead of the expected 4. Of course you can decrease the likelihood of this happening by adding more and more digits up to the maximum precision of floats, but what's the point to that if there are more robust and intuitive solutions at hand, like using `math.ceil()`? – blubberdiblub Nov 14 '16 at 09:08
  • @blubberdiblub In my answer I state `Without importing I use:`. I've also mentioned that it will fail if the `x + 0.4999` is equal to `[n].5000`. – Klik Nov 14 '16 at 22:23
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    Yes, you state in your answer that your solution is without importing, but I don't see the value of it. The `math` module and `math.ceil()` is in the standard library, so available everywhere for all practical purposes without installing extra stuff. And regarding your mention of when it fails, this is incomplete in your answer, as it fails for a whole interval, not just for a single point. Technically, you could argue you are correct, as you say *if* and not *iff*, but it will make the impression on the casual reader that it is less likely than it really is. – blubberdiblub Nov 17 '16 at 05:59
1

For those who doesn't want to use import.

For a given list or any number:

x = [2, 2.1, 2.5, 3, 3.1, 3.5, 2.499,2.4999999999, 3.4999999,3.99999999999]

You must first evaluate if the number is equal to its integer, which always rounds down. If the result is True, you return the number, if is not, return the integer(number) + 1.

w = lambda x: x if x == int(x) else int(x)+1
[w(i) for i in z]
>>> [2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4]

Math logic:

  • If the number has decimal part: round_up - round_down == 1, always.
  • If the number doens't have decimal part: round_up - round_down == 0.

So:

  • round_up == x + round_down

With:

  • x == 1 if number != round_down
  • x == 0 if number == round_down

You are cutting the number in 2 parts, the integer and decimal. If decimal isn't 0, you add 1.

PS:I explained this in details since some comments above asked for that and I'm still noob here, so I can't comment.

BESS
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0

To do it without any import:

>>> round_up = lambda num: int(num + 1) if int(num) != num else int(num)
>>> round_up(2.0)
2
>>> round_up(2.1)
3
0

I know this is from quite a while back, but I found a quite interesting answer, so here goes:

-round(-x-0.5)

This fixes the edges cases and works for both positive and negative numbers, and doesn't require any function import

Cheers

Fenmaz
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If you don't want to import anything, you can always write your own simple function as:

def RoundUP(num):
    if num== int(num):
        return num
    return int(num + 1)
Georgy
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Sebin
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    This does not work if num is 2.05. You have to have at least as many digits with a 9 as your input, leaving you with a 0.999... which is 1. But then your corner case 2 is rounded up again. -- Well, I guess there is a reason why math.ceil is there. – Johannes Maria Frank Mar 28 '17 at 00:01
0

You could use rond

cost_per_person = round(150 / 2, 2)
Thiago
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-1

You can use floor devision and add 1 to it. 2.3 // 2 + 1

-1

when you operate 4500/1000 in python, result will be 4, because for default python asume as integer the result, logically: 4500/1000 = 4.5 --> int(4.5) = 4 and ceil of 4 obviouslly is 4

using 4500/1000.0 the result will be 4.5 and ceil of 4.5 --> 5

Using javascript you will recieve 4.5 as result of 4500/1000, because javascript asume only the result as "numeric type" and return a result directly as float

Good Luck!!

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    That's only true in Python 2.x. In Python 3, division with a single `/` always results in a float, so `4500/1000` is always 4.5. – Nearoo Jun 19 '18 at 12:41
-3

I'm basically a beginner at Python, but if you're just trying to round up instead of down why not do:

round(integer) + 1
Daniel
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    This will not work for any integer i where 2.5 < integer < 3. The desired value after rounding up is 3 but your expression will turn it into 4. – Pranav Shukla Jun 01 '16 at 02:52
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    I think you mean `round(integer + 0.5)` This is what I often do – Klik Sep 08 '16 at 05:33
-3

I think you are confusing the working mechanisms between int() and round().

int() always truncates the decimal numbers if a floating number is given; whereas round(), in case of 2.5 where 2 and 3 are both within equal distance from 2.5, Python returns whichever that is more away from the 0 point.

round(2.5) = 3
int(2.5) = 2
Tico
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SooBin Kim
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  • "rounding up" means that e.g. `2.3` gets turned into `3`, which happens in neither of your examples. – Nearoo Jun 19 '18 at 12:43
-3

My share

I have tested print(-(-101 // 5)) = 21 given example above.

Now for rounding up:

101 * 19% = 19.19

I can not use ** so I spread the multiply to division:

(-(-101 //(1/0.19))) = 20
Stephen Rauch
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andres
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