Java Program to Find the Sum of
Natural Numbers using Recursion
To understand this example, you should have the knowledge of the following Java
programming topics:
Java Methods
Java Recursion
The positive numbers 1, 2, 3... are known as natural numbers. The program below
takes a positive integer from the user and calculates the sum up to the given number.
You can find the sum of natural numbers using loop as well. However, you will learn to
solve this problem using recursion here.
Example: Sum of Natural Numbers Using Recursion
public class AddNumbers {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int number = 20;
int sum = addNumbers(number);
System.out.println("Sum = " + sum);
}
public static int addNumbers(int num) {
if (num != 0)
return num + addNumbers(num - 1);
else
return num;
}
}
Output
Sum = 210
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The number whose sum is to be found is stored in a variable number .
Initially, the addNumbers() is called from the main() function with 20 passed as an
argument.
The number (20) is added to the result of addNumbers(19) .
In the next function call from addNumbers() to addNumbers() , 19 is passed which is
added to the result of addNumbers(18) . This process continues until num is equal to 0.
When num is equal to 0, there is no recursive call and this returns the sum of integers
to the main() function.
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