---
title: 2.15 Nested Loops
description: "A nested loop is a loop placed inside another loop. The inner loop completes its iterations for each iteration of the outer loop. ``` #include int main() { int i, j; for (i = 1; i"
url: "https://edcret.in/docs/c-programming/control-flow/2-15-nested-loops/"
updated: "2026-09-06"
category: C Programming / Control Flow
---

# 2.15 Nested Loops

A nested loop is a loop placed inside another loop. The inner loop completes its iterations for each iteration of the outer loop.

```
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    int i, j;

    for (i = 1; i <= 3; i++)
    {
        for (j = 1; j <= 2; j++)
        {
            printf("i = %d, j = %dn", i, j);
        }
    }

    return 0;
}
```

### Example Output

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

### Explanation

The outer loop controls `i`:

```
for (i = 1; i <= 3; i++)
```

For each value of `i`, the inner loop runs completely:

```
for (j = 1; j <= 2; j++)
```

When `i` is `1`, the inner loop runs with `j` equal to `1` and `2`. The same process occurs for `i` values `2` and `3`.

Therefore, the inner loop executes **2 times for each of the 3 outer-loop iterations**, resulting in a total of **6 executions** of the `printf()` statement.