# COUNT and COUNT DISTINCT functions
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The COUNT function counts the rows defined by the expression. The COUNT DISTINCT function computes the number of distinct non-NULL values in a column or expression. It eliminates all duplicate values from the specified expression before doing the count.

## Syntax
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```
COUNT (DISTINCT column)
```

## Arguments
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*column*  
The target column that the function operates on.

## Data types
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The COUNT function and the COUNT DISTINCT function supports all argument data types.

The COUNT DISTINCT function returns BIGINT.

## Examples
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Count all of the users from the state of Florida.

```
select count (identifier) from users where state='FL';
```

Count all of the unique venue IDs from the EVENT table.

```
select count (distinct venueid) as venues from event;
```