Which operator is used for integer division in Python?

The operator used for integer division in Python is the double slash (//). This operator performs division and returns the largest integer less than or equal to the quotient. Essentially, it truncates any decimal portion and returns only the whole number part of the result.

For instance, if you were to perform the operation 5 // 2, the result would be 2, as 5 divided by 2 equals 2.5, and integer division using // discards the decimal, resulting in 2. This operator is particularly useful when you need to perform a division operation where the result must be an integer, without rounding.

The other operators do not perform integer division. The single slash (/) is used for standard division and will return a floating-point number, even if the result is a whole number. The percent sign (%) represents the modulus operation, providing the remainder of a division, and the double asterisk (**) is used for exponentiation, raising a number to the power of another. Thus, the double slash is the correct operator for performing integer division in Python.