freeCodeCamp/guide/english/python/while-loop-statements/index.md

---
title: While Loop Statements
---
## While Loop Statements

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Python utilizes the `while` loop similarly to other popular languages.  The `while` loop evaluates a condition then executes a block of code if the condition is true. The block of code executes repeatedly until the condition becomes false.

The basic syntax is:

```python
counter = 0
while counter < 10:
   # Execute the block of code here as
   # long as counter is less than 10
   counter += 1
```

An example is shown below:
```python
days = 0    
week = ['Monday', 'Tuesday', 'Wednesday', 'Thursday', 'Friday', 'Saturday', 'Sunday']
while days < 7:
   print("Today is " + week[days])
   days += 1
```

Output:

```
Today is Monday
Today is Tuesday
Today is Wednesday
Today is Thursday
Today is Friday
Today is Saturday
Today is Sunday
```
Line-by-Line Explanation of the above code:
1. the variable 'days' is set to a value 0.
2. a variable week is assigned to a list containing all the days of the week.
3. while loop begins if the variable 'days' is less than 7
4. executes the code within the while loop
5. the variable 'days' is increased by 1
The code will then return to line 3 and repeat until days = > 7


## Infinite Loops:

As previously noted, a 'while' loop will run until the conditional logic is false. Because of this, it is important to  set a "false" condition within the executable code. If no false is included, the while loop will run infinitely. Use caution when setting logic parameters to prevent the infinite loop unless that is the desired output. 

#### More Information:

- <a href='https://docs.python.org/3/reference/compound_stmts.html#the-while-statement' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Python `while` statement documentation</a>