How to use the COUNTA function
The COUNTA function counts the non-empty or non-blank cells in a cell reference.
Table of Contents
1. COUNTA Function Syntax
COUNTA(value1, [value2], ...)
2. COUNTA Function Arguments
| value1 | Required. A cell reference to a range for which you want to count not empty values. |
| [value2] | Optional. Up to 254 additional arguments like the one above. |
The COUNTA function counts errors as not empty.
3. COUNTA Function example
Formula in cell F3:
The picture above demonstrates the COUNTA function entered in cell F3. The evaluated range is C3:C10, two of the cells contain formulas, and three cells seem to be empty but only one is in fact empty.
Cell C4 has a formula that returns a blank, note that the COUNTA function considers this cell not empty. Cell C7 has a space character and is therefore counted. Only cell C6 is empty.
4. Count non-empty values in an array
The COUNTA function returns an error dialog box if at least one of the containers is empty.
Formula in cell B3:
The formula above does not work, however, the formula below works.
The COUNTA function works if all containers in the array are non-empty.
Formula in cell B3:
An empty container like this "" is not considered empty which is surprising. The following formula counts non empty values in a hardcoded array.
Explaining formula
Step 1 - Replace errors with a text value
The IFERROR function catches most errors in Excel formulas.
IFERROR(value, value_if_error)
IFERROR({"A";"";44;0;" ";TRUE;#DIV/0!;"Text"},"A")
returns
{"A"; ""; 44; 0; " "; TRUE; "A"; "Text"}
Step 2 - Check if not empty
The less than and the larger than characters combined lets you test if a value is not equal to another value. The result is either TRUE or FALSE.
(IFERROR({"A";"";44;0;" ";TRUE;#DIV/0!;"Text"},"A")<>""
becomes
{"A"; ""; 44; 0; " "; TRUE; "A"; "Text"}<>""
and returns
{TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE}.
Step 3 - Convert boolean values to the numerical equivalents
This step is need in order to calculate a sum, the SUMPRODUCT function in the next step can't work with boolean values, however, their numerical equivalents work fine.
(IFERROR({"A";"";44;0;" ";TRUE;#DIV/0!;"Text"},"A")<>"")*1
becomes
{TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE}*1
returns
{1; 0; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1}.
Step 4 - Calculate a total
The SUMPRODUCT function calculates the product of corresponding values and then returns the sum of each multiplication.
SUMPRODUCT(array1, [array2], ...)
SUMPRODUCT((IFERROR({"A";"";44;0;" ";TRUE;#DIV/0!;"Text"},"A")<>"")*1)
becomes
SUMPRODUCT({1; 0; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1})
and returns 8.
5. Count non-empty values based on a condition
This example demonstrates how to count nonblank cells based on a condition applied to an adjacent column. The image above shows the condition in cell E3, cell range B3:B11 contains the values and the corresponding values in cell range C3:C11 contain numbers and some blank cells.
The formula in cell F3 matches the condition to B3:B11 and the corresponding matching cells are C5, C10 and C11. Cells C5 and C11 contain numbers, however, cell C10 is blank. The formula returns 2, there are two nonempty cells based on the given condition.
Formula in cell F3:
Explaining formula
Step 1 - Logical expression
The equal sign lets you compare value to value, it can also be used to compare a single value to multiple different values. The result is a boolean value, it is either TRUE or FALSE.
B3:B11=E3
becomes
{"Pen"; "Pencil"; "Clip"; "Pen"; "Clip"; "Pencil"; "Pen"; "Clip"; "Clip"}="Clip"
and returns
{FALSE; FALSE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; FALSE; FALSE; TRUE; TRUE}.
Step 2 - Check if not empty (non-empty)
The less than sign and the larger than sign combined lets you check if a value is NOT equal to another value. We are comparing nothing in this example to multiple cells, there is nothing between the double quotes "". The result is a boolean value, it is either TRUE or FALSE or in this case an array containing boolean values.
C3:C11<>""
becomes
{""; 7; 45; 31; ""; 37; 98; ""; 6}<>""
and returns
{FALSE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE}
Step 3 - Evaluate IF function
The IF function returns one value if the logical test is TRUE and another value if the logical test is FALSE.
IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])
IF(B3:B11=E3,C3:C11<>"",0)
becomes
IF({FALSE; FALSE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; FALSE; FALSE; TRUE; TRUE},C3:C11<>"",0)
becomes
IF({FALSE; FALSE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; FALSE; FALSE; TRUE; TRUE},{FALSE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE},0)
and returns
{0; 0; TRUE; 0; FALSE; 0; 0; FALSE; TRUE}
Step 4 - Convert boolean values
The SUM function can't calculate a total using boolean values, we need to convert the boolean values to their numerical equivalents.
TRUE - 1
FALSE - 0 (zero)
The asterisk lets you multiply numbers and boolean values in an Excel formula.
IF(B3:B11=E3,C3:C11<>"",0)*1
becomes
{0; 0; TRUE; 0; FALSE; 0; 0; FALSE; TRUE}*1
and returns
{0; 0; 1; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 1}. All values in the array are now either 1 or 0 (zero).
Step 5 - Calculate a total
The SUM function adds values and returns a total.
SUM(number1, [number2], ...)
SUM(IF(B3:B11=E3,C3:C11<>"",0)*1)
becomes
SUM({0; 0; 1; 0; 0; 0; 0; 0; 1})
and returns 2.
6. Count non-empty values based on a list
This example shows how to use multiple conditions compared to the same cell range B3:B11. The formula counts non-empty cells based on the given criteria.
The image above shows the criteria in cell E3 and E4, the matching cells in cell range B3:B11 are B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B10 and B11. The corresponding cells on the same row in column C have four non-empty cells. They are C5, C6, C9, and C11.
Formula in cell F3:
Explaining formula
Step 1 - Which values equal any item in the list
The COUNTIF function counts the number of cells that meet a given condition.
COUNTIF(range, criteria)
COUNTIF(E3:E4, B3:B11)
becomes
COUNTIF({"Clip"; "Pen"}, {"Pen"; "Pencil"; "Clip"; "Pen"; "Clip"; "Pencil"; "Pen"; "Clip"; "Clip"})
and returns
{1; 0; 1; 1; 1; 0; 1; 1; 1}.
Step 2 - Check if not empty (non-empty)
The less than sign and the larger than sign combined lets you check if a value is NOT equal to another value. This example checks if the values are empty.
C3:C11<>""
becomes
{""; 7; 45; 31; ""; 37; 98; ""; 6}<>""
and returns
{FALSE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE}.
Step 3 - Evaluate IF function
The IF function returns one value if the logical test is TRUE and another value if the logical test is FALSE.
IF(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false])
IF(COUNTIF(E3:E4, B3:B11), C3:C11<>"", 0)
becomes
IF({1; 0; 1; 1; 1; 0; 1; 1; 1}, {FALSE; TRUE; TRUE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE}, 0)
and returns
{FALSE; 0; TRUE; TRUE; FALSE; 0; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE}.
Step 4 - Convert boolean values
The SUM function can't calculate a total using boolean values, we need to convert the boolean values to their numerical equivalents.
TRUE - 1
FALSE - 0 (zero)
The asterisk lets you multiply numbers and boolean values in an Excel formula.
IF(B3:B11=E3,C3:C11<>"",0)*1
becomes
{FALSE; 0; TRUE; TRUE; FALSE; 0; TRUE; FALSE; TRUE}*1
and returns
{0; 0; 1; 1; 0; 0; 1; 0; 1}.
Step 5 - Calculate a total
The SUM function adds values and returns a total.
SUM(number1, [number2], ...)
SUM(IF(B3:B11=E3,C3:C11<>"",0)*1)
becomes
SUM({0; 0; 1; 1; 0; 0; 1; 0; 1})
and returns 4.
7. Count non-empty values in a string
This example demonstrates how to count non-blank values in a string of delimited values. The image above shows a string in cell B3 containing the delimiting value ; (semicolon).
Excel 365 dynamic array formula in cell C3:
Explaining formula
Step 1 - Split values
The TEXTSPLIT function lets you split a string into an array across columns and rows based on delimiting characters.
TEXTSPLIT(Input_Text, col_delimiter, [row_delimiter], [Ignore_Empty])
TEXTSPLIT(C3,";")
becomes
TEXTSPLIT("|7|45|31||37|98||6","|")
and returns
{"", "7", "45", "31", "", "37", "98", "", "6"}.
Step 2 - Check if values in array are not empty
The less than sign and the larger than sign combined lets you check if a value is NOT equal to another value. This example checks if the values are empty.
TEXTSPLIT(C3,";")<>""
becomes
{"", "7", "45", "31", "", "37", "98", "", "6"}<>""
and returns
{FALSE, TRUE, TRUE, TRUE, FALSE, TRUE, TRUE, FALSE, TRUE}.
Step 3 - Convert boolean values
The SUM function can't calculate a total using boolean values, we need to convert the boolean values to their numerical equivalents.
TRUE - 1
FALSE - 0 (zero)
The asterisk lets you multiply numbers and boolean values in an Excel formula.
(TEXTSPLIT(C3,";")<>"")*1
becomes
{FALSE, TRUE, TRUE, TRUE, FALSE, TRUE, TRUE, FALSE, TRUE}*1
and returns
{0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1}
Step 4 - Add numbers and return a total
The SUM function adds values and returns a total.
SUM(number1, [number2], ...)
SUM((TEXTSPLIT(C3,";")<>"")*1)
becomes SUM({0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1})
and returns 6.
8. Count non-empty cells in multiple cell ranges
This example demonstrates a formula that counts non-empty cells in multiple cell ranges. The new Excel 365 array functions make this easy and straightforward.
The image above shows three nonadjacent cell ranges, they don't need to be the same size vertically although they are in this example. The cell ranges contain values and some random blank cells, the dynamic array formula in cell B12 counts nonblank cells in all three cell ranges combined.
Formula in cell B12:
Explaining formula
Step 1 - Join arrays
The VSTACK function combines cell ranges or arrays, it joins data to the first blank cell at the bottom of a cell range or array.
VSTACK(array1,[array2],...)
VSTACK(B3:B9, D3:D9, F3:F9)
becomes
VSTACK({7;"";82;43;25;10;21},{73;13;93;"";"";65;91},{"";11;97;61;4;45;""})
and returns
{7; ""; 82; 43; 25; 1""; 21; 73; 13; 93; ""; ""; 65; 91; ""; 11; 97; 61; 4; 45; ""}.
Step 2 - Check if not empty
The less than sign and the larger than sign combined lets you check if a value is NOT equal to another value. This example checks if the values are empty.
VSTACK(B3:B9,D3:D9,F3:F9)<>""
becomes
{7; ""; 82; 43; 25; 1""; 21; 73; 13; 93; ""; ""; 65; 91; ""; 11; 97; 61; 4; 45; ""}<>""
and returns
{TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; ... ; FALSE}.
Step 3 - Convert boolean values to numbers
The SUM function can't calculate a total using boolean values, we need to convert the boolean values to their numerical equivalents.
TRUE - 1
FALSE - 0 (zero)
The asterisk lets you multiply numbers and boolean values in an Excel formula.
(VSTACK(B3:B9,D3:D9,F3:F9)<>"")*1
becomes
{TRUE; FALSE; TRUE; ... ; FALSE}*1
and returns
{1; 0; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 0; 0; 1; 1; 0; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 0}.
Step 4 - Calculate a total
SUM((VSTACK(B3:B9,D3:D9,F3:F9)<>"")*1)
becomes
SUM({1; 0; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 0; 0; 1; 1; 0; 1; 1; 1; 1; 1; 0})
and returns 16.
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'COUNTA' function examples
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Functions in this article
Functions in 'Statistical' category
The COUNTA function function is one of many functions in the 'Statistical' category.
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