How to Create Identity Matrix With Python

In linear algebra, the n-dimensional identity matrix is an n × n square matrix with ones on the major diagonal and zeros everywhere else. This article will explain how to create an identity matrix with the NumPy library of the Python programming language.

Create Identity Matrix With Python

NumPy is a Python programming language library to create large, multidimensional arrays and matrices. Install the NumPy library with the pip3 install numpy command to create the identity matrix.

This library’s identity() function takes a number as an argument and returns an identity array with that number of rows and columns. You can optionally specify the data type of the output. It uses float by default.

A 4x4 identity matrix with the integer data type is created in the example below.

import numpy as np

matrix_int = np.identity(4, dtype=int)
print(matrix_int)

If you do not specify the dtype parameter, the matrix is created with the float data type.

import numpy as np

matrix_float = np.identity(4)
print(matrix_float)