What is the difference between break and continue statements in Python?

The break and continue statements in Python are used to alter the flow of a normal loop (like for or while loop).

1. break statement: The break statement in Python terminates the current loop and resumes execution at the next statement, just like the traditional break statement in C. The most common use for break is when some external condition is triggered requiring a hasty exit from a loop. If the break statement is inside a nested loop (loop inside another loop), the break statement will terminate the innermost loop.

2. continue statement: The continue statement in Python returns the control to the beginning of the current loop. When encountered, the loop starts next iteration without executing the remaining statements in the current iteration. The continue statement rejects all the remaining statements in the current iteration of the loop and moves the control back to the top of the loop.

Here is an example to illustrate the difference:

for num in range(2, 10):
    if num % 2 == 0:
        print("Found an even number", num)
        continue
    print("Found a number", num)

In this example, when the number is even, the continue statement rejects all the remaining statements in the current iteration of the loop and moves the control back to the top of the loop to start the next iteration. So, "Found a number" is not printed for even numbers.

for num in range(2, 10):
    if num == 5:
        print("Found number 5")
        break
    print("Number is", num)

In this example, when the number is 5, the break statement terminates the loop. So, "Number is" is not printed for numbers after 5.