How To Check If Element In List Is Empty In Python

The clearest way to check whether a particular list element is None is to use is None:

values = [None, 2, 3]

if values[0] is None:
    print("The first item is None")

Use is None, rather than == None, because None is a single special object in Python. The is operator checks that identity directly.

Check whether a list contains None

Use any() with a generator expression when you need to inspect the entire list:

values = [1, 2, None, 4]

contains_none = any(item is None for item in values)
print(contains_none)  # True

any() stops as soon as it finds a match. It also avoids creating the temporary list that a list comprehension would produce.

If you only need a membership test, this shorter form is also clear:

contains_none = None in values

Decide what “empty” means

Python does not have one definition of an empty list element. You may be looking for one of several values:

Value	Recommended check
None	item is None
Empty string	item == ""
Empty list	item == []
Any falsy value	not item

Be careful with not item: it treats None, False, 0, empty strings and empty containers as empty. Use it only when all of those values should count.

values = ["ready", "", 0, None]

contains_falsy_value = any(not item for item in values)
print(contains_falsy_value)  # True

Find the empty elements

If you need the positions rather than a True or False answer, collect the indexes with enumerate():

values = ["ready", None, "done", None]

empty_indexes = [
    index
    for index, item in enumerate(values)
    if item is None
]

print(empty_indexes)  # [1, 3]

Quick reference

• Check one position: values[index] is None
• Check the whole list: any(item is None for item in values)
• Check membership: None in values
• Find matching positions: use enumerate() in a list comprehension

Next, see how to check whether a list itself is empty or add an empty element to a list.