How to find the Rank of a given Array in C#?

The rank of an array in C# refers to the number of dimensions it has. A one-dimensional array has a rank of 1, a two-dimensional array has a rank of 2, and so on. To find the rank of any array, use the Rank property.

Syntax

Following is the syntax to get the rank of an array −

arrayName.Rank

Return Value

The Rank property returns an int value representing the number of dimensions in the array.

Using Rank Property with Different Array Types

Example 1: Single-Dimensional Array

using System;

class Demo {
   static void Main() {
      int[] singleArray = new int[5];
      Console.WriteLine("Single-dimensional array rank: " + singleArray.Rank);
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Single-dimensional array rank: 1

Example 2: Multi-Dimensional Arrays

using System;

class Demo {
   static void Main() {
      int[,] twoDimensional = new int[3,3];
      int[,,] threeDimensional = new int[2,3,4];
      int[,,,] fourDimensional = new int[2,2,2,2];
      
      Console.WriteLine("2D array rank: " + twoDimensional.Rank);
      Console.WriteLine("3D array rank: " + threeDimensional.Rank);
      Console.WriteLine("4D array rank: " + fourDimensional.Rank);
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

2D array rank: 2
3D array rank: 3
4D array rank: 4

Example 3: Jagged Arrays vs Multi-Dimensional Arrays

It's important to note that jagged arrays (arrays of arrays) always have a rank of 1, regardless of how many levels of nesting they contain −

using System;

class Demo {
   static void Main() {
      int[][] jaggedArray = new int[3][];
      int[,] multiDimArray = new int[3,3];
      
      Console.WriteLine("Jagged array rank: " + jaggedArray.Rank);
      Console.WriteLine("Multi-dimensional array rank: " + multiDimArray.Rank);
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Jagged array rank: 1
Multi-dimensional array rank: 2

Comparison: Jagged vs Multi-Dimensional Arrays

Conclusion

The Rank property in C# returns the number of dimensions in an array. Multi-dimensional arrays have ranks equal to their dimension count, while jagged arrays always have a rank of 1 since they are technically arrays of arrays, not true multi-dimensional structures.