Iterate Over a Dictionary in Python

Last Updated : 16 Jul, 2026

Given a dictionary, the task is to iterate through its elements. Depending on the requirement, we can iterate over the keys, values, or both key-value pairs. For Example:

Input: d = {"name": "Kate", "age": 25}
Output:
name Kate
age 25

Now, let's explore different methods to iterate over a dictionary in Python.

Using items()

items() method returns both the key and its corresponding value together. This is useful when both pieces of information are needed during iteration.

Python 
d = {"name": "Emma", "age": 25, "city": "NY"}
for k, v in d.items():
    print(k, v)

Output
name Emma
age 25
city NY

Explanation: items() returns each dictionary entry as a (key, value) pair, which is unpacked into k and v during every iteration.

Using keys()

keys() method returns all the keys of the dictionary. It is useful when you only need to work with the keys or access values later using those keys.

Python 
d = {"name": "David", "age": 25, "city": "NY"}
for k in d.keys():
    print(k)

Output
name
age
city

Explanation: loop iterates over each key returned by keys() and prints it one by one.

Using values()

values() method returns all the values stored in the dictionary without exposing the corresponding keys.

Python 
d = {"name": "Harry", "age": 25, "city": "NY"}
for v in d.values():
    print(v)

Output
Harry
25
NY

Explanation: values() returns all dictionary values, which are accessed one at a time during the loop.

Using Dictionary Directly

A dictionary itself is iterable. Iterating over it directly returns its keys, which can then be used to access the corresponding values.

Python 
d = {"name": "Jake", "age": 25, "city": "NY"}
for k in d:
    print(k, d[k])

Output
name Jake
age 25
city NY

Explanation: When a dictionary is used directly in a for loop, each iteration returns a key. The corresponding value is then accessed using d[k].

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