continue Statement in C++

The continue statement skips the remaining part of the current loop iteration.

continue;

After continue executes, the loop proceeds according to its normal iteration rules.

continue;

The continue statement consists of the keyword continue followed by a semicolon.

for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {

    if (i == 3) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << std::endl;
}

Output:

1
2
4
5

When i is 3, the current iteration is skipped.

Suppose we have this loop:

for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {

    if (i == 3) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i;
}

The execution is:

1. Print 1.
2. Print 2.
3. When i == 3, continue executes.
4. The remaining statements for that iteration are skipped.
5. The loop moves to the next iteration.
6. Print 4.
7. Print 5.

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {

    if (i == 5) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << " ";
}

Output:

1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10

Only 5 is skipped.

With a while loop, make sure the loop variable is updated before continue, otherwise the loop can become infinite.

int i = 0;

while (i < 5) {

    i++;

    if (i == 3) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << " ";
}

Output:

1 2 4 5

int i = 0;

do {

    i++;

    if (i == 3) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << " ";

} while (i < 5);

Output:

1 2 4 5

The value 3 is skipped, but the loop continues.

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {

    if (i % 2 == 0) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << " ";
}

Output:

1 3 5 7 9

The continue statement skips all even numbers.

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {

    if (i % 2 != 0) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << " ";
}

Output:

2 4 6 8 10

Here, odd numbers are skipped.

for (int i = 1; i <= 20; i++) {

    if (i % 5 == 0) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << " ";
}

The numbers 5, 10, 15 and 20 are skipped.

The continue statement is often used inside an if statement.

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {

    if (i < 5) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << " ";
}

Only numbers from 5 to 10 are displayed.

int number;

for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {

    std::cout << "Enter number: ";
    std::cin >> number;

    if (number < 0) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << "Number = "
              << number
              << std::endl;
}

Negative numbers are skipped.

int numbers[] = {10, -5, 20, -8, 30};

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

    if (numbers[i] < 0) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << numbers[i] << " ";
}

Output:

10 20 30

Negative values are ignored.

#include <iostream>
#include <string>

int main() {

    std::string text = "HELLO";

    for (int i = 0; i < text.length(); i++) {

        if (text[i] == 'L') {
            continue;
        }

        std::cout << text[i];
    }

    return 0;
}

Output:

HEO

Both occurrences of L are skipped.

int skipNumber = 7;

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {

    if (i == skipNumber) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << " ";
}

The number stored in skipNumber is skipped.

int number = 5;

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {

    if (i == 5) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << number
              << " x "
              << i
              << " = "
              << number * i
              << std::endl;
}

The fifth multiplication is skipped.

When continue is used inside nested loops, it affects the nearest enclosing loop.

for (int i = 1; i <= 3; i++) {

    for (int j = 1; j <= 5; j++) {

        if (j == 3) {
            continue;
        }

        std::cout << j << " ";
    }

    std::cout << std::endl;
}

The inner loop skips 3 during every outer iteration.

for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {

    if (i == 3) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << "Number: "
              << i
              << std::endl;
}

std::cout << "Loop finished";

The loop continues after skipping 3 and eventually finishes normally.

// continue
if (i == 5) {
    continue;
}

// break
if (i == 5) {
    break;
}

Sometimes the same result can be achieved using if-else. However, continue can make loop logic easier to read when unwanted cases need to be skipped.

for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {

    if (i % 2 == 0) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << " ";
}

The code focuses directly on the values that should be processed.

int marks[] = {75, -1, 82, 90, -5};

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

    if (marks[i] < 0) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << "Marks: "
              << marks[i]
              << std::endl;
}

Invalid negative values are skipped while valid marks are processed.

int numbers[] = {-10, 20, -30, 40, 50};

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

    if (numbers[i] <= 0) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << numbers[i] << " ";
}

Output:

20 40 50

Only positive numbers are processed.

char choice;

for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {

    std::cout << "Enter y or n: ";
    std::cin >> choice;

    if (choice == 'n') {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << "Processing..."
              << std::endl;
}

When the user enters n, processing for that iteration is skipped.

int i = 0;

do {

    i++;

    if (i == 3) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i << " ";

} while (i < 5);

For a do-while loop, after continue is executed, control moves toward the loop's condition check.

Output:

1 2 4 5

Be careful when using continue inside while and do-while loops. The loop variable must still be updated.

Incorrect example:

int i = 1;

while (i <= 5) {

    if (i == 3) {
        continue;
    }

    i++;
}

When i becomes 3, continue executes before i++, so the loop can remain stuck at 3.

Better approach:

int i = 1;

while (i <= 5) {

    i++;

    if (i == 3) {
        continue;
    }

    std::cout << i;
}

• Thinking continue terminates the loop.
• Forgetting to update the loop variable in a while loop.
• Using continue when break is actually required.
• Putting continue in the wrong condition.
• Not understanding where execution resumes.
• Using too many continue statements and making code difficult to read.
• Forgetting that continue affects the nearest enclosing loop.

#include <iostream>

int main() {

    int numbers[] = {10, -5, 20, 0, 30, -8};

    for (int i = 0; i < 6; i++) {

        if (numbers[i] <= 0) {
            continue;
        }

        std::cout << "Valid number: "
                  << numbers[i]
                  << std::endl;
    }

    return 0;
}

The program ignores zero and negative values and processes only positive numbers.

#include <iostream>

int main() {

    int marks[] = {85, -1, 72, 91, -5, 68};

    for (int i = 0; i < 6; i++) {

        if (marks[i] < 0) {
            continue;
        }

        std::cout << "Student Marks: "
                  << marks[i]
                  << std::endl;
    }

    return 0;
}

Invalid marks are skipped, while valid marks are displayed.

• Use continue when the current iteration should be skipped.
• Use break when the entire loop should stop.
• Keep the continue condition simple.
• Make sure loop variables are updated correctly.
• Be especially careful with continue in while and do-while loops.
• Use continue to ignore invalid or unwanted data.
• Avoid excessive use of continue if it makes the code harder to understand.

if (condition) {
    continue;
}