Python Continue Statement

In Python, the continue statement is used to skip the current iteration of a loop and proceed with the next one. Unlike break, which exits the loop entirely, continue simply jumps to the next iteration.

The continue statement causes an immediate jump to the next iteration. It also sometimes lets you avoid statement nesting.

Usage of continue statement

continue in a while loop:

i = 0
while i < 10:
    i += 1
    if i % 2 == 0:  # Skip even numbers
        continue
    print(i)

Explanation: The loop increments i in each iteration, but when i is even, the continue the statement is triggered, skipping the rest of the loop body for that iteration. This prints only odd numbers.

continue in a for loop:

for i in range(1, 10):
    if i == 5:  # Skip the number 5
        continue
    print(i)

Explanation: The loop iterates through numbers from 1 to 10 but skips printing the number 5 due to the continue statement.

continue with if conditions:

for char in "hello world":
    if char == "o":  # Skip when 'o' is encountered
        continue
    print(char)

Explanation: When the letter 'o' is encountered in the string, the continue statement skips printing it and moves to the next character.