Recursion is when one function calls itself again and again with modified arguments until the base case is reached, which stops the recursion. On the other hand, iteration refers to using loops and executing the code body repeatedly until a specific condition is met.

Basis of Difference	Recursion	Iteration
Time Complexity	Greater because the function calls itself repeatedly.	Comparatively less.
Readability	Can result in cleaner, elegant code.	A straightforward process for simple tasks.
Code Size	Smaller code size.	Comparatively larger code size.
Control Flow	The self-referencing function calls itself.	Loop structure (for, while, etc.) controls the flow.
Code Complexity	Uses less code for some problems.	Requires explicit loop control and iteration.
Suitable Problems	Used for problems with recursive structure.	Used for repetitive or iterative tasks.
Handling State	Maintains a function call stack for the state.	Depends on variables for state management.
Execution Speed	Slow execution speed while using recursion.	Faster execution speed in iteration.
Memory Usage	Consumes more memory due to function calls.	Consumes less memory.
Termination	Base case is used to terminate the recursion.	Loop conditions control the iteration.
Space Complexity	Often uses more memory because of the call stack.	Uses a fixed amount of memory.
Tail Recursion Optimization	Some compilers optimize tail recursion.	No inherent optimization for loop tail calls.