SQLite COUNT() Function

Here we will learn what is SQLite COUNT() function, how to use SQLite COUNT() function with Where, Group By, and DISTINCT clauses with examples.

SQLite COUNT() Function

In SQLite Count() Function is an aggregate function that is used to return the total number of rows in a table based on the specified expression or conditions.

 

Generally, in SQLite Count() function will work with non-NULL numeric values to return a number of times non-NULL values exist in a column based on the defined expression.

 

In SQLite Count() function, if we define the expression as an asterisk character (*) then the COUNT function will return the number of rows in a table based on the defined aggregate group or condition.

Syntax of SQLite Count() Function

Following is the syntax of the SQLite count() function to return the total number of rows available with the defined expression.

 

SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT | ALL Expression) from tablename
[WHERE condition]
[GROUP BY Expression];

In the above SQLite count() function syntax, we defined multiple parameters that are

 

  • DISTINCT | ALL – By default SQLite count() function uses ALL to count the number of rows in a table based on a given expression so ALL is Optional we don’t need to specify it separately. In case we need to get the total number of DISTINCT values then we need to specify it with an expression.
  • Expression – Its column or expression which we used to count a number of non-NULL values available in the table.
  • Tablename – The name of the table which we wish to retrieve records from.
  • [WHERE Condition] – If we have any specific conditions to count the number of rows available then we need to specify WHERE based on our requirements. It’s optional.
  • [Group By Expression] – If we need to count the number of rows available based on a particular Expression value then we need to use Group By. It’s optional.

Example of SQLite Count() Function

Now we will see how to use the count() function in SQLite to get the total number of rows based on the value of an expression with examples for that we need to create two tables called dept_master and emp_master using the following query.

 

To create and insert some data in the dept_master table execute the following query.

 

CREATE TABLE dept_master
(dept_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
dept_name TEXT);

INSERT INTO dept_master(dept_name)
VALUES('Admin'),
('Sales'),
('Quality Control'),
('Marketing');

Once we create and insert data execute the following query to see the data of the dept_master table.

 

sqlite> SELECT * FROM dep_master;

 

dept_id     dept_name

----------  ----------

1           Admin

2           Sales

3           Quality Control

4           Marketing

Same way execute the following queries to create and insert some data in the emp_master table.

 

CREATE TABLE emp_master
(emp_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
first_name TEXT,
last_name TEXT,
salary NUMERIC,
dept_id INTEGER);

INSERT INTO emp_master
values (1,'Honey','Patel', 10100,1),
(2,'Shweta','Jariwala', 19300,2),
(3,'Vinay','Jariwala', 35100,3),
(4,'Jagruti','Viras', 9500,2),
(5,'Shweta','Rana',12000,3),
(6,'sonal','Menpara', 13000,1),
(7,'Yamini','Patel', 10000,2),
(8,'Khyati','Shah', 50000,3),
(9,'Shwets','Jariwala',19400,2);

Now run the following query to check the records of the emp_master table.

 

sqlite> SELECT * FROM emp_master;

 

emp_id      first_name  last_name   salary      dept_id

----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------

1           Honey       Patel       10100       1

2           Shweta      Jariwala    19300       2

3           Vinay       Jariwala    35100       3

4           Jagruti     Viras       9500        2

5           Shweta      Rana        12000       3

6           Sonal       Menpara     13000       1

7           Yamini      Patel       10000       2

8           Khyati      Shah        50000       3

9           Shwets      Jariwala    19400       2

SQLite Count(*) Function

In SQLite the Count(*) function will return the total number of rows available in a table, including the rows which contain NULL values. The Count(*) will not take any parameters other than the asterisk symbol (*).

 

Now we will see how to use SQLite count(*) on emp_master to get the total number of records in the table.

 

sqlite> SELECT COUNT(*) FROM emp_master;

 

count(*)

----------

9

If you observe the above example it returns the total number of rows available in the emp_master table. The above statement will return records even if NULL values exist in columns.

SQLite Count() with Group By Clause

In SQLite, we use Group By clause with the Count() function to get the number of items that exist in a table based on the Group By expression.

 

Suppose I want to know how many employees exist in each department then By using the SQLite Group By clause with Count() function, we can quickly get that information.

 

Following is the SQLite query to use the Count() function with the Group By clause to get the number of employees that exists in each department.

 

sqlite> SELECT COUNT(*),d.dept_name
FROM emp_master e, dept_master d
WHERE e.dept_id = d.dept_id
GROUP BY e.dept_id;

 

count(*)    dept_name

----------  ----------

2           Admin

4           Sales

3           Quality Control

If you observe the above example we got the employees count based on the department wise.

SQLite Count Function with Distinct Clause

Generally in SQLite, we use the DISTINCT clause to get the UNIQUE number of records from a table, same way to get a Unique number of records from the table we use the DISTINCT with Count() function.

 

Following is the SQLite Count() function with DISTINCT to get each department's unique employee count.

 

sqlite> SELECTd.dept_name, COUNT(DISTINCT e.emp_id)
FROM emp_master e, dept_master d
WHERE e.dept_id=d.dept_id
GROUP BY e.dept_id;

 

dept_name       count(emp_id)

----------      ----------

Admin           2

Sales           4

Quality Control 3

If you observe the above result we got the DISTINCT employees count based on the department id.

SQLite Count Function with Where Clause

In SQLite, we can use the WHERE clause with the COUNT() function to return the number of rows from a table based on the defined conditions.

 

Suppose I want to get a number of employees from only the “Admin” department then by using the WHERE clause, we can easily get a count of employees only from the “Admin” department.

 

Following is the SQLite query to use the COUNT() function with WHERE clause to get employees count from only the “Admin” department.

 

SELECT d.dept_name, COUNT(e.emp_id)
FROM emp_master e, dept_master d
WHERE e.dept_id=d.dept_id AND d.dept_name ='Admin'
GROUP BY e.dept_id;

 

dept_name       count(*)

----------      ----------

Admin           2

If you observe the above example we are getting the count of employees whose department name equals to “Admin”.

 

This is how we can use the COUNT() function in SQLite to return a total number of rows based on our requirements.

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