%foo =( '11' =>{ '4'=>'Four', }, '33' =>{ '1'=>'One', }, '2' =>{ '2' => 'Two', }, ); my $ref_HoH = \%foo; for my $k ( sort {%{ $ref_HoH{$a} } <=> %{ $ref_HoH{$b} } }keys %$ref_HoH ) { print "$k\n"; for my $j ( sort keys %{$ref_HoH->{ $k }} ) { print "\t$j\n"; } } #### 33 1 11 4 2 2 #### 2 11 33