# Off Topic > Tips and Tutorials >  >  Using the COUNT Functions

## ExcelTip

Problem:	

How can we count the cells in List1 (column A) according to the following criteria:
1.  Cell contains a number.
2.  Cell is not empty.
3.  Cell is empty.
4.  Cell contains a number larger than 5.
5.  Cell contains text.
6.  Cell contains the string \"Excel\".
7.  Cell contains 3 characters only.	

Solution:

Use the COUNT, COUNTA, COUNTBLANK, and COUNTIF functions as shown in the following formulas:
1.  =COUNT(A2:A13)
2.  =COUNTA(A2:A13)
3.  =COUNTBLANK(A2:A13)
4.  =COUNTIF(A2:A13,\">5\")
5.  =COUNTIF(A2:A13,\"*\")
6.  =COUNTIF(A2:A13,\"*Excel*\")
7.  =COUNTIF(A2:A13,\"???\")


To replace the criteria specified in the COUNTIF function with a cell reference containing the desired criteria, include the following operators: 
The same method can be applied when using the \"*\" operator (wildcard) to count cells containing a particular substring.
Thus, with the information stored in C11:C14, the above COUNTIF functions (4-7) could be modified, as follows:
1. =COUNTIF(A2:A13,\">\"&C11)
2. =COUNTIF(A2:A13,C12)
3. =COUNTIF(A3:A13,\"*\"&C13&\"*\")
4. =COUNTIF(A2:A13,C14)

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## rdjalayer

Thanks for the post.
Here is a good video tutorial on the subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-GI...ure=plpp_video

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