What is COUNT in Excel?
The COUNT function in Excel counts the number of cells containing numeric values or array of numbers in a selected data range and ignores all the other entries in that range. For example, the formula “=COUNT(A6:A20)” counts all the cells with numerical values (ID number) in the cell range A6:A20, which corresponds to 12.
The COUNT in Excel function counts numeric values such as time, date, percentages, formulas, fractions, and negative numbers.
Key Highlights
- The COUNT function is a programmed function that you can use for an array
- There are a total five variants in the COUNT function family- COUNT, COUNTIF, COUNTIFS, COUNTA, and COUNTBLANK.
- We use the COUNTA function to count logical values.
- We use either COUNTIF or COUNTIFS function to count numbers meeting specified criteria.
- We cannot use the function COUNT in Excel to count logical values and formula errors.
- We can use the COUNT function to count dates too as Excel stores the dates in the form of serial numbers
- We cannot use the COUNT in Excel function to count logical values- TRUE or FALSE
COUNT in Excel Syntax
The syntax for the COUNT Function is-
Arguments
Value1 (required): It indicates the first item or cell of the specified range.Value2 (optional): It denotes the second set of cells or ranges that you want to count. Once you put the first Value1, all other values become optional.
Note: You can provide up to 256 values to the COUNT function. The COUNT function always returns either zero or greater than zero.
How to use the COUNT in Excel?
Let us understand the use of the COUNT function with the help of below-given examples.
Download our free COUNT in Excel Template here to practice while you learn.
Example #01
The table below shows a list of states in the US with area codes. We want to find the total number of area codes from the given list using the COUNT function.
Step 1: Place the cursor in cell C8 and enter the formula,
=COUNT(A6:A19)
The COUNT function formula will count the number of cells containing numeric values in the given list
Step 2: Press Enter key and it will give the below result.
There are total 14 values in the selected range but the COUNT function formula only counts the cells with numeric values and gives the result of 7.
Example #02
The table below contains a list of dates. Let us count the total number of dates using the function COUNT in Excel.
Step 1: Place your cursor in cell C8 and enter the formula,
=COUNT(A6:A12)
Step 2: Press Enter key and you will get the below result,
There are total seven dates in the above table, but the COUNT function formula returns the value 5. It is because in the table two dates are written in an incorrect format.
The below table shows the dates in incorrect format (highlighted in RED)
Example #3
The table below shows the Employee code of five employees, their weekly wages and attendance in the first week of February 2023. If an employee is present, his attendance is marked as 1 or else it is marked as A. Let us find each employee’s total wages per week based on his attendance.
Step 1: Place the cursor in cell J6 and enter the formula,
=COUNT(C6:I6)
Step 2: Press Enter key and it gives the Total no. of Paid Days as shown below
The COUNT in Excel function gives the Total no. of Paid Days of 6.
Now,
Step 3: Place the cursor in cell K6 and enter the formula,
=B6/7*J6
Step 4: Press Enter key and it will give the Total Wages of the week for Emp Code ID125
Step 5: Drag or copy the same formula in other cells to get the Total wages for all the Emp codes
Recommended Articles
The above article is a guide to use COUNT in Excel function. We recommend the below given article to get more Excel-related information
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