Count elements in Array having strictly smaller and strictly greater element present

Namachila November 19, 2025

0 0 7 minutes read

Given an array arr[], the task is to find the count of elements in the given array such that there exists an element strictly smaller and an element strictly greater than it.

Examples:

Input: arr [] = {11, 7, 2, 15}
Output: 2
Explanation: For arr[1] = 7, arr[0] is strictly greater than it and arr[2] is strictly smaller than it. Similarly for arr[1], arr[3] is strictly greater than it and arr[2] is strictly smaller than it. Hence, the required count is 2.

Input: arr[] = {1, 1, 1, 3}
Output: 0

Naive Approach: The given problem can be solved by iterating over each element of the array arr[] and checking whether there exists a strictly greater and strictly smaller element than it.

Algorithm:

Initialize a variable ‘count‘ to 0 to keep track of the number of elements that satisfy the condition.
Traverse each element of the array using a loop with index ‘i’.
For each element, traverse the array again using a nested loop with index ‘j’ and check if there exists an element strictly smaller and an element strictly greater than the current element arr[i].
If such elements exist, increase the ‘count‘ variable.
Return the final value of ‘count‘.

Below is the implementation of the approach:

C++

// C++ code for the approach
 
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
// Function to count elements
// which satisfy the condition
int countElements(int arr[], int n) {
    int count = 0;
   
      // traverse each element
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
        bool smaller = false, greater = false;
        for (int j = 0; j < n; j++) {
            if (i != j) {
                if (arr[j] < arr[i])
                    smaller = true;
                else if (arr[j] > arr[i])
                    greater = true;
            }
        }
           
          // if both strictly smaller and
          // greater exists, increase count
        if (smaller && greater)
            count++;
    }
   
    return count;
}
 
// Driver's code
int main() {
    // Input
    int arr[] = { 11, 7, 2, 15 };
    int n = sizeof(arr) / sizeof(arr[0]);
   
    // Function call
    int count = countElements(arr, n);
 
    // Output
    cout << count;
 
    return 0;
}

Java

public class Main {
    // Function to count elements that satisfy the condition
    public static int countElements(int[] arr) {
        int n = arr.length;
        int count = 0;
 
        // Loop through each element
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
            boolean smaller = false, greater = false;
 
            for (int j = 0; j < n; j++) {
                if (i != j) {
                    if (arr[j] < arr[i])
                        smaller = true;
                    else if (arr[j] > arr[i])
                        greater = true;
                }
            }
 
            // If both strictly smaller and greater elements exist, increase count
            if (smaller && greater)
                count++;
        }
 
        return count;
    }
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Input
        int[] arr = { 11, 7, 2, 15 };
 
        // Function call
        int count = countElements(arr);
 
        // Output
        System.out.println(count);
    }
}

Python3

def count_elements(arr):
    count = 0
 
    # Traverse each element
    for i in range(len(arr)):
        smaller, greater = False, False
        for j in range(len(arr)):
            if i != j:
                if arr[j] < arr[i]:
                    smaller = True
                elif arr[j] > arr[i]:
                    greater = True
 
        # If both strictly smaller and greater elements exist, increase count
        if smaller and greater:
            count += 1
 
    return count
 
# Driver's code
arr = [11, 7, 2, 15]
count = count_elements(arr)
print(count)

C#

using System;
 
public class GFG {
    // Function to count elements
    // which satisfy the condition
    public static int CountElements(int[] arr, int n)
    {
        int count = 0;
 
        // traverse each element
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
            bool smaller = false, greater = false;
            for (int j = 0; j < n; j++) {
                if (i != j) {
                    if (arr[j] < arr[i])
                        smaller = true;
                    else if (arr[j] > arr[i])
                        greater = true;
                }
            }
 
            // if both strictly smaller and
            // greater exists, increase count
            if (smaller && greater)
                count++;
        }
 
        return count;
    }
 
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Input
        int[] arr = { 11, 7, 2, 15 };
        int n = arr.Length;
 
        // Function call
        int count = CountElements(arr, n);
 
        // Output
        Console.WriteLine(count);
    }
}

Javascript

// JS code for the approach
 
// Function to count elements
// which satisfy the condition
function countElements(arr,  n) {
    let count = 0;
   
      // traverse each element
    for (let i = 0; i < n; i++) {
        let smaller = false, greater = false;
        for (let j = 0; j < n; j++) {
            if (i != j) {
                if (arr[j] < arr[i])
                    smaller = true;
                else if (arr[j] > arr[i])
                    greater = true;
            }
        }
           
          // if both strictly smaller and
          // greater exists, increase count
        if (smaller && greater)
            count++;
    }
   
    return count;
}
 
// Driver's code
// Input
let arr = [ 11, 7, 2, 15 ];
let n = arr.length;
 
// Function call
let count = countElements(arr, n);
 
// Output
console.log(count);

Output

Time Complexity: O(N²)
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

Efficient Approach: The above approach can be optimized by finding the minimum and maximum element of the given array, traversing the given array arr[], and checking if arr[i] is strictly greater than the minimum and strictly smaller than the maximum. Maintain the count of such indices in a variable which is the required answer.

Below is the implementation of the above approach:

C++

// C++ Program of the above approach
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
 
// Function to find the count of elements
// in the given array such that there exists
// a strictly smaller and greater element
int cntElements(vector<int>& arr)
{
    // Stores the maximum
    int a = *max_element(
        arr.begin(), arr.end());
 
    // Stores the minimum
    int b = *min_element(
        arr.begin(), arr.end());
 
    // Stores the required count
    int cnt = 0;
 
    // Loop to iterate arr[]
    for (auto x : arr) {
        // If x is valid
        if (x < a && x > b)
            cnt++;
    }
 
    // Return Answer
    return cnt;
}
 
// Driver Code
int main()
{
    vector<int> arr = { 11, 7, 2, 15 };
    cout << cntElements(arr);
 
    return 0;
}

Java

// Java Program of the above approach
import java.util.*;
public class GFG 
{
 
  // Function to find the count of elements
  // in the given array such that there exists
  // a strictly smaller and greater element
  static int cntElements(int[] arr)
  {
 
    // Stores the required count
    int cnt = 0;
 
    // Stores the maximum
    int a = arr[0];
 
    // Stores the minimum
    int b = arr[0];
    for (int i = 1; i < arr.length; i++) {
 
      if (arr[i] > a) {
        a = arr[i];
      }
 
      if (arr[i] < b) {
        b = arr[i];
      }
    }
    // Loop to iterate arr[]
    for (int i = 0; i < arr.length; i++) {
 
      // If x is valid
      if (arr[i] < a && arr[i] > b)
        cnt++;
    }
 
    // Return Answer
    return cnt;
  }
 
  // Driver Code
  public static void main(String args[])
  {
    int[] arr = { 11, 7, 2, 15 };
    System.out.print(cntElements(arr));
 
  }
}
 
// This code is contributed by Samim Hossain Mondal.

Python3

# Python code for the above approach
 
# Function to find the count of elements
# in the given array such that there exists
# a strictly smaller and greater element
def cntElements(arr):
 
    # Stores the maximum
    a = max(arr)
 
    # Stores the minimum
    b =min(arr)
 
    # Stores the required count
    cnt = 0
 
    # Loop to iterate arr[]
    for x in range(len(arr)):
        # If x is valid
        if arr[x] < a and arr[x]> b:
            cnt = cnt + 1
     
    # Return Answer
    return cnt
 
# Driver Code
arr = [11, 7, 2, 15];
print(cntElements(arr));
    
# This code is contributed by Potta Lokesh

C#

// C# Program of the above approach
using System;
class GFG 
{
 
  // Function to find the count of elements
  // in the given array such that there exists
  // a strictly smaller and greater element
  static int cntElements(int[] arr)
  {
 
    // Stores the required count
    int cnt = 0;
 
    // Stores the maximum
    int a = arr[0];
 
    // Stores the minimum
    int b = arr[0];
    for (int i = 1; i < arr.Length; i++) {
 
      if (arr[i] > a) {
        a = arr[i];
      }
 
      if (arr[i] < b) {
        b = arr[i];
      }
    }
    // Loop to iterate arr[]
    for (int i = 0; i < arr.Length; i++) {
 
      // If x is valid
      if (arr[i] < a && arr[i] > b)
        cnt++;
    }
 
    // Return Answer
    return cnt;
  }
 
  // Driver Code
  public static int Main()
  {
    int[] arr = { 11, 7, 2, 15 };
    Console.Write(cntElements(arr));
 
    return 0;
  }
}
 
// This code is contributed by Taranpreet

Javascript

<script>
    // JavaScript Program of the above approach
 
    // Function to find the count of elements
    // in the given array such that there exists
    // a strictly smaller and greater element
    const cntElements = (arr) => {
        // Stores the maximum
        let a = Math.max(...arr);
 
        // Stores the minimum
        let b = Math.min(...arr);
 
        // Stores the required count
        let cnt = 0;
 
        // Loop to iterate arr[]
        for (let x in arr) {
            // If x is valid
            if (arr[x] < a && arr[x] > b)
                cnt++;
        }
 
        // Return Answer
        return cnt;
    }
 
    // Driver Code
 
    let arr = [11, 7, 2, 15];
    document.write(cntElements(arr));
 
// This code is contributed by rakeshsahni
 
</script>

Output

Time Complexity: O(N)
Auxiliary Space: O(1)

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