Python for loops (With Examples)

The for statement is used to iterate generic sequences in Python like lists, strings, dictionaries, etc. In Python, the for statement iterates over the items in the order that they appear.

By using for loops you can automate the execution of a block of code for each item in the sequence.

Topics covered

1. Syntax of for loop
2. Python range() function
3. Iterating over data types using for loop
4. Iterating over a dictionary
5. Nested for loops
6. Problems to solve

Syntax of for loop

for [iterating_variable] in [sequence]:
    [Do something with iterating_variable]

Example 1

Code

x = ["Pylenin", "loves", "Python"]

for word in x:
    print(word)

Output

Pylenin
loves
Python

Python range() function

Let’s say you want to create a sequence of numbers from 0 to 5 in Python. You can use the range() function to achieve this objective.

range() returns a sequence of numbers, starting with 0 by default, increments each number by 1 (by default), and stops before the specified number.

Syntax

range(start, stop, step)

start - An integer number specifying the position to start. 
        Default is 0.(Optional)
stop - An integer number specifying the position to stop. 
       (Required)
step - An integer number specifying the incrementing value.
       Default is 1.(Optional)

Example 1

Code

x = range(0,5)

print(type(x))

for i in x:
    print(i)

Output

<class 'range'>
0
1
2
3
4

So a range(0,5) returns a <class 'range'> type object. When you iterate on it, it returns you a sequence of numbers from 0 to 4. The end number in range() is exclusive.

As per the syntax shown above, range(0,5) is the same as range(5). If you don’t mention any starting number, it starts by default at 0.

Example 2 - Using a step with range()

Using steps in range() function, works similar to using steps in slicing strings.

Code

for i in range(0,5,2):
    print(i)

Output

0
2
4

With the step specified as 2, the range() function returns a sequence of numbers from 0(inclusive) to 5(exclusive), containing every 2nd number.

You can also use a negative step

Code

for i in range(10,5,-2):
    print(i)

Output

10
8
6

Iterating over data types using for loop

As discussed above, a for loop can step across any kind of sequence object.

You can easily iterate on every element of a list, tuple, string, or dictionary using for loop. For e.g., the code below loops over the list and prints out the square of each number.

Code - Iterating on list

x = [1, 2, 3, 4]

for i in x:
    print(i**2)

Output

1
4
9
16

You can also add the squares of each number to another list.

Code - Iterating on list

x = [1, 2, 3, 4]
new_list = []

for i in x:
    new_list.append(i**2)

print(new_list)

Output

[1, 4, 9, 16]

You can also iterate on other data types like strings, tuples and sets in a similar fashion.

Code

# for loop on strings
str1 = "Pylenin"

for s in str1:
    print(s, end =" ")
print()

# for loop on tuples
my_tuple = ("Pylenin", "loves", "Python")

for elem in my_tuple:
    print(elem, end=" ")
print()

# for loops on sets
my_set = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

for elem in my_set:
    print(elem, end = " ")

Output

P y l e n i n 
Pylenin loves Python 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

Iterating over a dictionary

You can also iterate over a dictionary using for loops.

You can iterate through dictionaries in 4 different ways.

1. Iterate over the dictionary itself.
2. Iterate over the keys - dict.keys()
3. Iterate over the values - dict.values()
4. Iterate over both keys and values - dict.items()

Iterating over the dictionary

Iterating over a dictionary using for loop returns you the keys of a dictionary.

Code

my_dict = {
    "name" : "Pylenin",
    "language" : "Python",
    "DOB" : 1992
}

for item in my_dict:
    print(item)

Output

name
language
DOB

Iterate over the dictionary keys - dict.keys()

Another way to iterate over the keys in a dictionary, is by using the dict.keys() method.

Code

my_dict = {
    "name" : "Pylenin",
    "language" : "Python",
    "DOB" : 1992
}

for item in my_dict.keys():
    print(item)

Output

name
language
DOB

Iterate over the dictionary values - dict.values()

To iterate over the values in a dictionary, you can use dict.values() methods.

Code

my_dict = {
    "name" : "Pylenin",
    "language" : "Python",
    "DOB" : 1992
}

for item in my_dict.values():
    print(item)

Output

Pylenin
Python
1992

Iterate over the dictionary keys and values - dict.items()

To iterate over both the dictionary keys and values, use the dict.items() method.

Code

my_dict = {
    "name" : "Pylenin",
    "language" : "Python",
    "DOB" : 1992
}

print(my_dict.items())

for key, value in my_dict.items():
    print(key, value)

Output

dict_items([('name', 'Pylenin'), ('language', 'Python'), ('DOB', 1992)])

name Pylenin
language Python
DOB 1992

Nested for loops

You can also have a for loop within another for loop in Python. This is called a Nested for loop.

Let’s try to find the common elements of the 2 lists. One way to achieve this objective would be to do it using sets.

We could also do it using for loops.

Code

list1 = [1, 2, 3, 4]
list2 = [4, 5, 6, 7]

for i in list1:
    for j in list2:
        if i == j:
            print(f"{i} exists in both lists")

Output

4 exists in both lists

Now, the above code is not the most efficient way of achieving the objective. You should use a break keyword in there to stop iteration, once the element has been found.

Problems

1. Write a Python program to find the largest number in a list.
2. Write a Python program to remove duplicates from a list.
3. From a list containing ints, strings and floats, make three lists to store them separately. For reference - Use type() method