EXCEL FUNCTIONS-COUNTIF

INTRODUCTION

COUNTIF FUNCTION comes under the STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS category in Excel.

It is an extension to the COUNT FUNCTION.

COUNTIF function , as the name suggests, does the counting job in Excel , just like the COUNT FUNCTION with the difference that we can provide condition in COUNTIF FUNCTION which cells to count.

The other difference is that it works independently of the type of data which means that it would work for numbers as well as text or any other data type.

COUNTIF FUNCTION is very helpful when we need to use any nested functions to make a check on the number of cells containing the number or number type of data.

This function is also very helpful when we are programming VBA. We’ll be needing a lot of functions to know the status of the sheet so that we can decide what to do further. This function is one of those functions which are helpful.

Let us learn ,how to use this function.

PURPOSE OF COUNTIF FUNCTION IN EXCEL

COUNTIF FUNCTION returns the total number of cells from a given data set or range which fulfill a particular given criteria.

PREREQUISITES TO LEARN COUNTIF FUNCTION

THERE ARE A FEW PREREQUISITES WHICH WILL ENABLE YOU TO UNDERSTAND THIS FUNCTION IN A BETTER WAY.

•  Basic understanding of how to use a formula or function.
•  Basic understanding of rows and columns in Excel.
• Some information about the STATISTICAL terms is an advantage for the use of such formulas.
•  Of course, Excel software.

Helpful links for the prerequisites mentioned aboveWhat Excel does? How to use formula in Excel?

SYNTAX: COUNTIF FUNCTION

The Syntax for the function is

=COUNTIF(RANGE, CRITERIA)

RANGE Given range which needs to be scanned to find out the number of cells which fulfill the criteria

CRITERIA The criteria on the basis of which , cells will be counted.

NOTE* CRITERIA NEEDS TO BE GIVEN IN THE “”.

EXAMPLE:COUNTIF FUNCTION IN EXCEL

DATA SAMPLE

Let us take a mixed data consisting of numbers, dates, numbers as text and text etc. so that we can check the working of function COUNTIF by giving different criteria.

The data used is shown below.

We’ll find out the cells which has value more than 100

and

The cells which has value more than 100 and less than 200.

And finally using a wildcard will find the place which has “don” at the end of its name and three letters before “don”.

STEPS TO USE COUNTIF FUNCTION-EXAMPLE

STEPS:

1. Place the cursor in the cell and type the following function

CRITERIA 1: >100

=COUNTIF(C5:C21,”>100″)

2. Press ENTER, the answer will appear as 9.

3. Place the cursor in the cell and type the following function

CRITERIA 2: >100 AND <200

=COUNTIF(C5:C21,”>100″)-COUNTIF(C5:C21,”>200″)

*If there are two conditions, its better to make a logic like the one we made. It fulfills the conditions but the condition is single.

4. Press ENTER, the answer will appear as 1.

5. Place the cursor in the cell and type the following function

CRITERIA 3: PLACE ENDING WITH “DON”

6. Press ENTER, the answer will appear as 1.

The answers can be checked manually. We find that all answers are correct.

GENERALIZED STEPS TO USE COUNTIF FUNCTION

HERE ARE THE STEPS TO USE COUNT FUNCTION

• Type the function
• =COUNTIF(RANGE, CRITERIA)  in the cell where we want the result.
• Press ENTER and the result will appear.