MS Excel: How to use countif function

Purpose of using Countif formula

Countif formula is used to count the number of cells that meet specific single criteria

 

What is the output of countif formula?

This formula returns the count of cells  in the selected range which satisfy the mentioned criteria

 

What are the steps to use countif formula?

1. Select a cell where you want the output

2. Type a formula like this =countif

3. Double click on Countif formula

4. Now it will ask range so select the range of cells. This range contains the criteria which we are going to apply

5. Press comma(,)

6. Enter a criteria. If it is a text then type it in double inverted comma “criteria”. If criteria is in a numeric form then no need to press “”.

7. Then hit enter

We will see the example

Suppose we have a list of students and their result (Pass/Fail) and we want to count the number of Pass students and number of Fail students then we will use countif function

Now select a cell and type =countif formula and double click on it. Now select a range as show in picture and press comma ,

We want to count Pass students. Hence type “Pass” in criteria argument.

Now hit enter to see the result as count of pass students

Similarly countif can be used to count Fail students. Follow the same steps up to the selection of range and type Fail in criteria.

Hit enter key. You can see the count of Fail students

In this way countif function has its application from basic level to advance level. This can improve you efficiency of working on excel.

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