ArrayList isEmpty() Method in Java with Examples

Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2025

In Java, the isEmpty() method of ArrayList is used to check if an ArrayList is empty.

Example 1: Here, we use the isEmpty() method to check whether an ArrayList of integers is empty.

Java

// Java program to demonstrate the use of isEmpty()  // method with ArrayList of Integers import java.util.ArrayList; public class GFG {  public static void main(String[] args) {    // Creating an empty ArrayList of Integers  ArrayList<Integer> n = new ArrayList<>();  // Checking if the ArrayList is empty  boolean res = n.isEmpty();  System.out.println("" + res);  // Adding an element   // to the ArrayList  n.add(21);  // Checking again if the   // ArrayList is empty  res = n.isEmpty();  System.out.println("" + res);  } }

Output

true false

Syntax of ArrayList `isEmpty()` Method

public boolean isEmpty()

Return Type: It returns a boolean value, true if the list is empty, otherwise false.

Example 2: Here, we use the isEmpty() method to check if an ArrayList of strings is empty.

Java

// Java program to demonstrate the use of  // isEmpty() method with ArrayList of Strings import java.util.ArrayList; public class GFG {  public static void main(String[] args) {    // Creating an ArrayList of Strings  ArrayList<String> s = new ArrayList<>();  // Checking if the ArrayList is empty  System.out.println("" + s.isEmpty());  // Adding an element to   // the ArrayList  s.add("Cherry");  // Checking again if the   // ArrayList is empty  System.out.println("" + s.isEmpty());  } }

Output

true false

Example 3: Here, we will use the isEmpty() method to check if an ArrayList of Objects is empty.

Java

// Java program to demonstrate the use of  // isEmpty() method with custom Objects import java.util.ArrayList; class Person {  String n;  int a;  // Constructor  public Person(String n, int a) {  this.n = n;  this.a = a;  } } public class Main {  public static void main(String[] args) {    // create an ArrayList of Person objects  ArrayList<Person> p = new ArrayList<>();  // check if the ArrayList is empty  System.out.println("" + p.isEmpty());  // add a Person object to the ArrayList  p.add(new Person("Sweta", 24));  // check again if the ArrayList is empty  System.out.println("" + p.isEmpty());  } }