JavaScript continue Statement

The continue statement skips the current iteration of the loop and proceeds to the next iteration.

// program to check for odd numbers
for (let i = 1; i <= 5; i++) {
    // skip the iteration if i is even
    if (i % 2 === 0) {
        continue;
    }
    console.log(i);
}

// Output:
// 1
// 3
// 5

Working of JavaScript continue Statement

Note: The continue statement is usually used inside decision-making statements such as if...else.

Example: JavaScript continue With while Loop

We can use the continue statement to skip iterations in a while loop. For example,

let i = 0;

while (i < 5) {
    i++;

    if (i === 3) {
        continue;
    }

    console.log(i);
}

Output

1
2
4
5

In the above example, the continue statement skips the rest of the loop's body when i becomes 3.

JavaScript continue With Nested Loop

When continue is used inside two nested loops, continue affects only the inner loop. For example,

// nested for loops

// outer loop
for (let i = 1; i <= 3; i++) {

    // inner loop
    for (let j = 1; j <= 3; j++) {
        if (j == 2) {
            continue;
        }
        console.log(`i = ${i}, j = ${j}`);
    }
}

Output

i = 1, j = 1
i = 1, j = 3
i = 2, j = 1
i = 2, j = 3
i = 3, j = 1
i = 3, j = 3

In the above program, the continue statement only skips the iteration of the inner loop when j == 2.

More on JavaScript continue Statement

Using continue with labels.

In nested loops, it's possible to skip iterations of the outer loop by using a labeled continue statement.

Let's look at an example.

outerloop: for (let i = 1; i <= 3; i++) {
  
    innerloop: for (let j = 1; j <= 3; j++) {

        if (j === 2) {
            continue outerloop;
        }

        console.log("i = " + i + ", j = " + j);
    }
}

Output

i = 1, j = 1
i = 2, j = 1
i = 3, j = 1

In the above example, we have labeled our loops as:

outerloop: for (let i = 1; i <= 3; i++) {...}
innerloop: for (let j = 1; j <= 3; j++) {...}

This helps us identify the loops. Notice the use of the labeled continue statement:

if (j === 2) {
    continue outerloop;
}

This skips the current iteration of the outerloop whenever j === 2.

Also Read:

• JavaScript break Statement
• JavaScript for Loop
• JavaScript while Loop