Compute nCr%p using Fermat Little Theorem
Last Updated :
23 Jul, 2025
Given three numbers n, r and p, compute the value of nCr mod p. Here p is a prime number greater than n. Here nCr is Binomial Coefficient.
Example:
Input: n = 10, r = 2, p = 13
Output: 6
Explanation: 10C2 is 45 and 45 % 13 is 6.
Input: n = 6, r = 2, p = 13
Output: 2
We have discussed the following methods in previous posts.
Compute nCr % p | Set 1 (Introduction and Dynamic Programming Solution)
Compute nCr % p | Set 2 (Lucas Theorem)
In this post, Fermat Theorem-based solution is discussed.
Background:
Fermat's little theorem and modular inverse
Fermat's little theorem states that if p is a prime number, then for any integer a, the number ap - a is an integer multiple of p. In the notation of modular arithmetic, this is expressed as:
ap = a (mod p)
For example, if a = 2 and p = 7, 27 = 128, and 128 - 2 = 7 × 18 is an integer multiple of 7.
If a is not divisible by p, Fermat's little theorem is equivalent to the statement a p - 1 - 1 is an integer multiple of p, i.e
ap-1 = 1 (mod p)
If we multiply both sides by a-1, we get.
ap-2 = a-1 (mod p)
So we can find modular inverse as p-2.
Computation:
We know the formula for nCr
nCr = fact(n) / (fact(r) x fact(n-r))
Here fact() means factorial.
nCr % p = (fac[n]* modIverse(fac[r]) % p *
modIverse(fac[n-r]) % p) % p;
Here modIverse() means modular inverse under
modulo p.
Following is the implementation of the above algorithm. In the following implementation, an array fac[] is used to store all the computed factorial values.
C++
// A modular inverse based solution to
// compute nCr % p
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
/* Iterative Function to calculate (x^y)%p
in O(log y) */
unsigned long long power(unsigned long long x,
int y, int p)
{
unsigned long long res = 1; // Initialize result
x = x % p; // Update x if it is more than or
// equal to p
while (y > 0)
{
// If y is odd, multiply x with result
if (y & 1)
res = (res * x) % p;
// y must be even now
y = y >> 1; // y = y/2
x = (x * x) % p;
}
return res;
}
// Returns n^(-1) mod p
unsigned long long modInverse(unsigned long long n,
int p)
{
return power(n, p - 2, p);
}
// Returns nCr % p using Fermat's little
// theorem.
unsigned long long nCrModPFermat(unsigned long long n,
int r, int p)
{
// If n<r, then nCr should return 0
if (n < r)
return 0;
// Base case
if (r == 0)
return 1;
// Fill factorial array so that we
// can find all factorial of r, n
// and n-r
unsigned long long fac[n + 1];
fac[0] = 1;
for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++)
fac[i] = (fac[i - 1] * i) % p;
return (fac[n] * modInverse(fac[r], p) % p
* modInverse(fac[n - r], p) % p)
% p;
}
// Driver program
int main()
{
// p must be a prime greater than n.
int n = 10, r = 2, p = 13;
cout << "Value of nCr % p is "
<< nCrModPFermat(n, r, p);
return 0;
}
// A modular inverse based solution to
// compute nCr %
import java.io.*;
class GFG {
/* Iterative Function to calculate
(x^y)%p in O(log y) */
static int power(int x, int y, int p)
{
// Initialize result
int res = 1;
// Update x if it is more than or
// equal to p
x = x % p;
while (y > 0) {
// If y is odd, multiply x
// with result
if (y % 2 == 1)
res = (res * x) % p;
// y must be even now
y = y >> 1; // y = y/2
x = (x * x) % p;
}
return res;
}
// Returns n^(-1) mod p
static int modInverse(int n, int p)
{
return power(n, p - 2, p);
}
// Returns nCr % p using Fermat's
// little theorem.
static int nCrModPFermat(int n, int r,
int p)
{
if (n<r)
return 0;
// Base case
if (r == 0)
return 1;
// Fill factorial array so that we
// can find all factorial of r, n
// and n-r
int[] fac = new int[n + 1];
fac[0] = 1;
for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++)
fac[i] = fac[i - 1] * i % p;
return (fac[n] * modInverse(fac[r], p)
% p * modInverse(fac[n - r], p)
% p)
% p;
}
// Driver program
public static void main(String[] args)
{
// p must be a prime greater than n.
int n = 10, r = 2, p = 13;
System.out.println("Value of nCr % p is "
+ nCrModPFermat(n, r, p));
}
}
// This code is contributed by Anuj_67.
# Python3 program to calculate nCr % p
#Python function to calculate nCr % p
def ncr(n, r, p):
# initialize numerator and denominator
num = den = 1
for i in range(r):
num = (num * (n - i)) % p
den = (den * (i + 1)) % p
return (num * pow(den, p - 2, p)) % p
# p must be a prime greater than n
n, r, p = 10, 2, 13
print("Value of nCr % p is", ncr(n, r, p))
// A modular inverse based solution to
// compute nCr % p
using System;
class GFG {
/* Iterative Function to calculate
(x^y)%p in O(log y) */
static int power(int x, int y, int p)
{
// Initialize result
int res = 1;
// Update x if it is more than or
// equal to p
x = x % p;
while (y > 0) {
// If y is odd, multiply x
// with result
if (y % 2 == 1)
res = (res * x) % p;
// y must be even now
y = y >> 1; // y = y/2
x = (x * x) % p;
}
return res;
}
// Returns n^(-1) mod p
static int modInverse(int n, int p)
{
return power(n, p - 2, p);
}
// Returns nCr % p using Fermat's
// little theorem.
static int nCrModPFermat(int n, int r,
int p)
{
if (n<r)
return 0;
// Base case
if (r == 0)
return 1;
// Fill factorial array so that we
// can find all factorial of r, n
// and n-r
int[] fac = new int[n + 1];
fac[0] = 1;
for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++)
fac[i] = fac[i - 1] * i % p;
return (fac[n] * modInverse(fac[r], p)
% p * modInverse(fac[n - r], p)
% p)
% p;
}
// Driver program
static void Main()
{
// p must be a prime greater than n.
int n = 10, r = 11, p = 13;
Console.Write("Value of nCr % p is "
+ nCrModPFermat(n, r, p));
}
}
// This code is contributed by Anuj_67
<?php
// A modular inverse
// based solution to
// compute nCr % p
// Iterative Function to
// calculate (x^y)%p
// in O(log y)
function power($x, $y, $p)
{
// Initialize result
$res = 1;
// Update x if it
// is more than or
// equal to p
$x = $x % $p;
while ($y > 0)
{
// If y is odd,
// multiply x
// with result
if ($y & 1)
$res = ($res * $x) % $p;
// y must be
// even now
// y = y/2
$y = $y >> 1;
$x = ($x * $x) % $p;
}
return $res;
}
// Returns n^(-1) mod p
function modInverse($n, $p)
{
return power($n, $p - 2, $p);
}
// Returns nCr % p using
// Fermat's little
// theorem.
function nCrModPFermat($n, $r, $p)
{
if ($n<$r)
return 0;
// Base case
if ($r==0)
return 1;
// Fill factorial array so that we
// can find all factorial of r, n
// and n-r
//$fac[$n+1];
$fac[0] = 1;
for ($i = 1; $i <= $n; $i++)
$fac[$i] = $fac[$i - 1] *
$i % $p;
return ($fac[$n] * modInverse($fac[$r], $p) % $p *
modInverse($fac[$n - $r], $p) % $p) % $p;
}
// Driver Code
// p must be a prime
// greater than n.
$n = 10;
$r = 2;
$p = 13;
echo "Value of nCr % p is ",
nCrModPFermat($n, $r, $p);
// This code is contributed by Ajit.
?>
<script>
// A modular inverse based solution
// to compute nCr % p
/* Iterative Function to calculate
(x^y)%p in O(log y) */
function power(x, y, p)
{
// Initialize result
let res = 1;
// Update x if it is more than or
// equal to p
x = x % p;
while (y > 0) {
// If y is odd, multiply x
// with result
if (y % 2 == 1)
res = (res * x) % p;
// y must be even now
y = y >> 1; // y = y/2
x = (x * x) % p;
}
return res;
}
// Returns n^(-1) mod p
function modInverse(n, p)
{
return power(n, p - 2, p);
}
// Returns nCr % p using Fermat's
// little theorem.
function nCrModPFermat(n, r, p)
{
if (n<r)
{
return 0;
}
// Base case
if (r == 0)
return 1;
// Fill factorial array so that we
// can find all factorial of r, n
// and n-r
let fac = new Array(n + 1);
fac[0] = 1;
for (let i = 1; i <= n; i++)
fac[i] = fac[i - 1] * i % p;
return (fac[n] * modInverse(fac[r], p) % p *
modInverse(fac[n - r], p) % p) % p;
}
// p must be a prime greater than n.
let n = 10, r = 2, p = 13;
document.write("Value of nCr % p is " +
nCrModPFermat(n, r, p));
</script>
OutputValue of nCr % p is 6
Time Complexity: O(n)
Auxiliary Space: O(n)
We can further improve it's space complexity:
Instead of calculating factorial in a different array, we can directly multiply numbers with some cancellations.
We know the formula for nCr
nCr = fact(n) / (fact(r) x fact(n-r))
fact(n) = n * (n-1) * (n-2) * (n-3)* .... * 1;
fact(r) = r * (r-1) * (r-2) * ......... *1;
Because r is always less than n in nCr So all factors in fact(r) also come in fact(n),
hence we can cancell them.
And get the multiplication of rest elements of numerator and denominator(fact(n-r))
Note that rest elements of numerator will be n* (n-1) *(n-2) * .... (r+1).
We can also improve time complexity with the logic nCr is equal to nC(n-r). So whenever n-r is less than r compute nCn-r instead of nCr.
See the below implementation:
C++
// A modular inverse based solution to
// compute nCr % p
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;
/* Iterative Function to calculate (x^y)%p
in O(log y) */
unsigned long long power(unsigned long long x, int y, int p)
{
unsigned long long res = 1; // Initialize result
x = x % p; // Update x if it is more than or
// equal to p
while (y > 0) {
// If y is odd, multiply x with result
if (y & 1)
res = (res * x) % p;
// y must be even now
y = y >> 1; // y = y/2
x = (x * x) % p;
}
return res;
}
// Returns n^(-1) mod p
unsigned long long modInverse(unsigned long long n, int p)
{
return power(n, p - 2, p);
}
unsigned long long mul(unsigned long long x,
unsigned long long y, int p)
{
return x * 1ull * y % p;
}
unsigned long long divide(unsigned long long x,
unsigned long long y, int p)
{
return mul(x, modInverse(y, p), p);
}
// Returns nCr % p using Fermat's little
// theorem.
unsigned long long nCrModPFermat(unsigned long long n,
int r, int p)
{
// If n<r, then nCr should return 0
if (n < r)
return 0;
// Base case
if (r == 0)
return 1;
// if n-r is less calculate nCn-r
if (n - r < r)
return nCrModPFermat(n, n - r, p);
// Fill factorial array so that we
// can find all factorial of r, n
// and n-r
unsigned long long res = 1;
// keep multiplying numerator terms and dividing denominator terms in res
for (int i = r; i >= 1; i--)
res = divide(mul(res, n - i + 1, p), i, p);
return res;
}
// Driver program
int main()
{
// p must be a prime greater than n.
int n = 10, r = 2, p = 13;
cout << "Value of nCr % p is "
<< nCrModPFermat(n, r, p);
return 0;
}
//Code and idea by Harsh Singh (hsnooob)
import java.util.*;
public class Gfg {
// Iterative Function to calculate (x^y)%p in O(log y)
public static long power(long x, int y, int p) {
long res = 1; // Initialize result
x = x % p; // Update x if it is more than or equal to p
while (y > 0) {
// If y is odd, multiply x with result
if ((y & 1) == 1)
res = (res * x) % p;
// y must be even now
y = y >> 1; // y = y/2
x = (x * x) % p;
}
return res;
}
// Returns n^(-1) mod p
public static long modInverse(long n, int p) {
return power(n, p - 2, p);
}
public static long mul(long x, long y, int p) {
return x * 1L * y % p;
}
public static long divide(long x, long y, int p) {
return mul(x, modInverse(y, p), p);
}
// Returns nCr % p using Fermat's little theorem.
public static long nCrModPFermat(long n, long r, int p) {
// If n<r, then nCr should return 0
if (n < r)
return 0;
// Base case
if (r == 0)
return 1;
// if n-r is less calculate nCn-r
if (n - r < r)
return nCrModPFermat(n, n - r, p);
// Fill factorial array so that we can find all factorial of r, n and n-r
long res = 1;
// keep multiplying numerator terms and dividing denominator terms in res
for (long i = r; i >= 1; i--)
res = divide(mul(res, n - i + 1, p), i, p);
return res;
}
// Driver program
public static void main(String[] args) {
// p must be a prime greater than n.
int n = 10, r = 2, p = 13;
System.out.println("Value of nCr % p is " + nCrModPFermat(n, r, p));
}
}
def power(x, y, p):
res = 1
x = x % p
while y > 0:
if y & 1:
res = (res * x) % p
y = y >> 1
x = (x * x) % p
return res
def modInverse(n, p):
return power(n, p - 2, p)
def mul(x, y, p):
return (x * y) % p
def divide(x, y, p):
return mul(x, modInverse(y, p), p)
def nCrModPFermat(n, r, p):
if n < r:
return 0
if r == 0:
return 1
if n - r < r:
return nCrModPFermat(n, n - r, p)
res = 1
for i in range(1, r + 1):
res = divide(mul(res, n - i + 1, p), i, p)
return res
n = 10
r = 2
p = 13
print("Value of nCr % p is", nCrModPFermat(n, r, p))
using System;
class Program {
// Iterative Function to calculate (x^y)%p in O(log y)
static long Power(long x, int y, int p)
{
long res = 1; // Initialize result
x = x % p; // Update x if it is more than or equal
// to p
while (y > 0) {
// If y is odd, multiply x with result
if ((y & 1) == 1)
res = (res * x) % p;
// y must be even now
y = y >> 1; // y = y/2
x = (x * x) % p;
}
return res;
}
// Returns n^(-1) mod p
static long ModInverse(long n, int p)
{
return Power(n, p - 2, p);
}
static long Mul(long x, long y, int p)
{
return x * 1L * y % p;
}
static long Divide(long x, long y, int p)
{
return Mul(x, ModInverse(y, p), p);
}
// Returns nCr % p using Fermat's little theorem.
static long NCrModPFermat(long n, long r, int p)
{
// If n<r, then nCr should return 0
if (n < r)
return 0;
// Base case
if (r == 0)
return 1;
// if n-r is less calculate nCn-r
if (n - r < r)
return NCrModPFermat(n, n - r, p);
// Fill factorial array so that we can find all
// factorial of r, n and n-r
long res = 1;
// keep multiplying numerator terms and dividing
// denominator terms in res
for (long i = r; i >= 1; i--)
res = Divide(Mul(res, n - i + 1, p), i, p);
return res;
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// p must be a prime greater than n.
int n = 10, r = 2, p = 13;
Console.WriteLine("Value of nCr % p is "
+ NCrModPFermat(n, r, p));
}
}
// A modular inverse based solution to
// compute nCr % p
function power(x, y, p) {
let res = 1; // Initialize result
x = x % p; // Update x if it is more than or equal to p
while (y > 0) {
// If y is odd, multiply x with result
if (y & 1) res = (res * x) % p;
// y must be even now
y = y >> 1; // y = y/2
x = (x * x) % p;
}
return res;
}
// Returns n^(-1) mod p
function modInverse(n, p) {
return power(n, p - 2, p);
}
function mul(x, y, p) {
return (x * y) % p;
}
function divide(x, y, p) {
return mul(x, modInverse(y, p), p);
}
// Returns nCr % p using Fermat's little theorem.
function nCrModPFermat(n, r, p) {
// If n<r, then nCr should return 0
if (n < r) return 0;
// Base case
if (r == 0) return 1;
// if n-r is less calculate nCn-r
if (n - r < r) return nCrModPFermat(n, n - r, p);
// Fill factorial array so that we
// can find all factorial of r, n
// and n-r
let res = 1;
// keep multiplying numerator terms and dividing denominator terms in res
for (let i = r; i >= 1; i--)
res = divide(mul(res, n - i + 1, p), i, p);
return res;
}
// Driver program
let n = 10,
r = 2,
p = 13;
console.log("Value of nCr % p is " + nCrModPFermat(n, r, p));
OutputValue of nCr % p is 6
Time Complexity: O(n)
Auxiliary Space: O(1)
Improvements:
In competitive programming, we can pre-compute fac[] for a given upper limit so that we don't have to compute it for every test case. We also can use unsigned long long int everywhere to avoid overflows.
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