SELECT COUNT(*) FROM <table> [WHERE <conditions>]

COUNT can be used to counts the number of rows and this total is returned in a single column and single row resultset.

Table: Customers

CustID	Name	Address	City	Country	PostCode	Phone	Fax
CUST001	Maria Anders	Obere Str. 57	Berlin	Germany	12209	030-0074321	030-0076545
CUST002	Ernst Handel	Kirchgasse 6	Graz	Austria	8010	7675-3425	7675-3426
CUST003	Helen Bennett	Garden House Crowther Way	Cowes	UK	PO31 7PJ	(198) 555-8888	(198) 555-8889
CUST004	Paula Wilson	2817 Milton Dr.	Albuquerque	USA	87110	(505) 555-5939	(505) 555-5940
CUST005	Liu Wong	55 Grizzly Peak Rd.	Butte	USA	59801	(406) 555-5834	(406) 555-8083

The following SQL statement returns the the number of rows in the Customers table.

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM Customers

Resultset1

5