Java Map equals() Method

Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2025

The equals() method of Map interface in Java is used to check if two maps are equal. Two maps are considered equal if they meet the following conditions.

Both maps must have the same size.
Both maps must contain identical key-value pairs. (It means every key in one map must be associated with the same value as in the other map)

Syntax of equals() Method

public boolean equals(Object o)

Parameter: This method takes an object "o" which is compared with equality with the current map.
Return Type: This method returns "true" if the specified object is equal to the current map, otherwise it returns "false".

Example: This example demonstrates how to use the equals() method to check if two HashMap objects have identical key-value pairs.

Java

// Java Program to demonstrates the working of equals()
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

public class Geeks {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        // Create the first HashMap and 
        // add key-value pairs
        Map<Integer, String> hm1 = new HashMap<>();
        hm1.put(1, "Geek1");
        hm1.put(2, "Geek2");
        hm1.put(3, "Geek3");

        // Create the second HashMap 
        // and add key-value pairs
        Map<Integer, String> hm2 = new HashMap<>();
        hm2.put(1, "Geek1");
        hm2.put(2, "Geek2");
        hm2.put(3, "Geek3");

        // Create the Third HashMap 
        // and add key-value pairs
        Map<Integer, String> hm3 = new HashMap<>();
        hm3.put(1, "Geek1");
        hm3.put(2, "Geek4");
        hm3.put(3, "Geek5");

        System.out.println("First HashMap: " + hm1);
        System.out.println("Second HashMap: " + hm2);

        // Compare the First and the 
        // Second HashMap for equality
        System.out.println("Are the maps equal? "
                           + hm1.equals(hm2));

        System.out.println("First HashMap: " + hm1);
        System.out.println("Third HashMap: " + hm3);

        // Compare the First and the 
        // Third HashMap for equality
        System.out.println("Are the maps equal? "
                           + hm1.equals(hm3));
    }
}