This page isn't translated yet, so its text is in English. Function names and formulas are shown in your Excel language.
Excel function · Counting
COUNTA
Counts the cells that aren't empty.
What it does
COUNTA counts every cell that holds something: numbers, text, dates, TRUE or FALSE, even errors. Only truly empty cells are left out.
Syntax
=COUNTA(value1; [value2]; …)Arguments in square brackets are optional, and … means you can add more of the same. In this Excel language, arguments are separated by ;
Arguments
- value
- A range or cell to look at. Add more arguments to count across several ranges.
Example
Volunteers sign up for weekday shifts. How many shifts are covered?
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shift | Volunteer |
| 2 | Mon | Ana |
| 3 | Tue | |
| 4 | Wed | Kai |
| 5 | Thu | |
| 6 | Fri | Mo |
| 7 | Shifts filled | 3 |
The formula in B7:
=COUNTA(B2:B6)Result: 3
There are names in B2, B4 and B6. Tuesday and Thursday are empty, so 3 shifts are filled.
Common mistakes
- Cells that look empty but aren't. A space, or a formula that returns empty text (
""), still counts. - Including the header in the range, which adds one to the count.
In other Excel languages
Excel translates function names, and in some languages the argument separator too. Type the name your Excel shows.
| Excel language | Function name | Separator |
|---|---|---|
| English | COUNTA | , |
| Deutsch | ANZAHL2 | ; |
| Français | NBVAL | ; |
| Español (España) | CONTARA | ; |
| Español (México) | CONTARA | , |
| 日本語 | COUNTA | , |
| 한국어 | COUNTA | , |
| 繁體中文 | COUNTA | , |
| ไทย | COUNTA | , |
| ខ្មែរ | COUNTA | , |
| Tiếng Việt | COUNTA | ; |