Conditional Statements in Python

Conditional statements allow your program to make decisions and execute different code based on whether a condition is true or false. This is one of the most important concepts in programming – it lets your code respond to different situations.

In Python, we use if, elif, and else to create these decision structures. Conditions are evaluated as boolean values (True or False).

The Basic if Statement

The if statement checks a condition. If it's True, the indented code block runs. If False, it is skipped.

Notice the colon : after the condition and the indentation – both are required in Python.

Comparison Operators

These operators compare values and return True or False.

Logical Operators

Combine multiple conditions: and (both true), or (at least one true), not (invert).

Truthy and Falsy Values

Python treats certain values as False in conditions (falsy): 0, "", [], None, False. Everything else is truthy.

Quick Quiz