What is COUNTBLANK function in Excel?
The COUNTBLANK function is one of the Statistical functions of Excel.
It counts the number of empty cells in a specified range of cells.
We can find this function in Statistical category of insert function Tab.
How to use COUNTBLANK function in excel
- Click on an empty cell (like F5).
2. Click on the fx icon (or press shift+F3).
3. In the insert function tab you will see all functions.
4. Select STATISTICAL category.
5. Select COUNTBLANK function.
6. Then select ok.
7. In the function arguments Tab you will see COUNTBLANK function.
8. Range is the range from which you want to count the empty cells.
9. You will see the results in the formula result section.
Examples of COUNTBLANK function in Excel
- To count the number of blank cells in a range A1:A10, use the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:A10).
- To count the number of empty rows in a table named “SalesData”, use the formula =COUNTBLANK(SalesData[Date]).
- To count the number of blank cells in a column B, use the formula =COUNTBLANK(B:B).
- To count the number of blank cells in a row 5, use the formula =COUNTBLANK(5:5).
- To count the number of blank cells in a range A1:C5, use the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:C5).
- To count the number of blank cells in a named range “MyRange”, use the formula =COUNTBLANK(MyRange).
- To count the number of blank cells in a sheet named “Sheet1”, use the formula =COUNTBLANK(Sheet1!A1:Z1000).
- To count the number of blank cells in a filtered range, use the formula =SUBTOTAL(3,range), where “range” is the filtered range.
- To count the number of blank cells in a pivot table field named “Sales”, use the formula =COUNTBLANK(GETPIVOTDATA(“Sales”,PivotTable)).
- To count the number of blank cells in a dynamic named range “SalesData”, use the formula =COUNTBLANK(OFFSET(SalesData,0,0,COUNTA(SalesData)))
Purpose of the COUNTBLANK function
The purpose of the COUNTBLANK function in Excel is to count the number of cells that are blank within a given range.
How to use the COUNTBLANK function in Excel
To use the COUNTBLANK function in Excel, select a cell where you want to display the result, and then type “=COUNTBLANK(” followed by the range of cells you want to count.
For example, if we want to count the number of blank cells in range A1:A5, the formula would be “=COUNTBLANK(A1:A5)“.
Can COUNTBLANK function count blank cells?
Yes, the COUNTBLANK function can count blank cells in a range of data. It returns the count of all the empty cells in a specified range.
For example, if we have a range of cells A1:A5 where cells A1, A3, and A5 are blank, while cells A2 and A4 contain some text, then the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:A5) will return a value of 3, which represents the number of blank cells in the range.
Using COUNTBLANK with multiple ranges
Yes, the COUNTBLANK function can count blank cells in multiple ranges of data. To do this, separate the ranges by commas within the formula.
For example, if we have cells A1:A5 and B1:B5 that contain both blank and non-blank cells, we can use the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:A5,B1:B5) to count the total number of blank cells in both ranges.
COUNTBLANK function and counting cells with spaces or zeros
The COUNTBLANK function counts only blank cells in a given range of cells. It will not count cells that contain only spaces or zeros.
For example, if we have a range of cells A1:A5 where A3 and A5 are blank cells, and A1, A2, and A4 contain spaces or zeros, then the COUNTBLANK function will return a value of 2.
Difference between COUNTBLANK and COUNT functions
The COUNT function counts the number of cells in a given range that contain any type of data including numbers, text, logical values, errors, and empty strings.
In contrast, the COUNTBLANK function counts only empty cells in a given range.
For example, if we have a range of cells A1:A5 where A1, A3, and A5 are blank cells, and A2 and A4 contain the numbers 10 and 20 respectively, then the COUNT function will return a value of 2 while the COUNTBLANK function will return a value of 3.
Using COUNTBLANK function with non-contiguous ranges of cells
Yes, the COUNTBLANK function can be used with non-contiguous ranges of cells. In this case, multiple ranges of cells need to be specified separated by commas within the function.
For example, if we want to count the number of blank cells in ranges A1:A5 and C1:C5, then the formula for COUNTBLANK function would be =COUNTBLANK(A1:A5,C1:C5) which will return the total number of blank cells in both ranges.
Limitations of the COUNTBLANK function
There is no specific limitation to the number of cells that the COUNTBLANK function can count. However, the function may slow down if used with an excessively large range of cells.
For example, if we have a range of cells A1:A100000 where only 10 cells are blank, then the COUNTBLANK function will still accurately count only those 10 blank cells.
However, using the function for such a large range of cells may take a longer time to compute than for a smaller range of cells.
The COUNTBLANK function does not have any specific data type requirements for the range of cells being counted.
No, the COUNTBLANK function does not have any specific data type requirements for the range of cells being counted.
It can count blank cells within a range of data that contains numbers, text, dates, logical values, or errors.
For example, if we have a range of cells A1:A5 where cells A1 and A3 are blank, cell A2 contains text “Apple”, and cell A4 contains an error value, the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:A5) will return a value of 2.
The COUNTBLANK function can count cells that contain formulas but no values.
Yes, the COUNTBLANK function can count cells that contain formulas but no values.
If a cell contains a formula that returns an empty or null value, it will be counted as blank by the COUNTBLANK function.
For example, if we have a range of cells A1:A5 where cells A1 and A3 contain formulas that return an empty value, while all other cells are truly blank, the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:A5) will count two blank cells.
Errors in a range of data need to be handled differently when using the COUNTBLANK function.
When using the COUNTBLANK function with a range of data that may contain errors, the errors need to be handled differently than blank cells.
One way to handle errors is by using the IFERROR function, which replaces the error values with another value or formula.
For example, if we have a range of cells A1:A5 where cell A3 contains an error value, we can use the formula =COUNTBLANK(IFERROR(A1:A5,"")) to count only the blank cells and exclude the error value.
The COUNTBLANK function can ignore hidden cells in a range of data.
Yes, the COUNTBLANK function can ignore hidden cells within a range of data. If a cell is hidden, it will not be counted by the COUNTBLANK function.
For example, if we have a range of cells A1:A5 where cells A2 and A4 are hidden, and all other cells are truly blank, the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:A5) will still count all blank cells despite the hidden cells.
The COUNTBLANK function can be used with named ranges in Excel.
Yes, the COUNTBLANK function can be used with named ranges in Excel. Named ranges allow users to define a name for a range of cells and use it in formulas instead of the cell references.
For example, if we have a named range “Data” that refers to the range A1:A10, the formula =COUNTBLANK(Data) will count the number of blank cells within that named range.
The COUNTBLANK function can be used to count the number of empty rows in a table by incorporating the ROWS function.
To count the number of empty rows in a table using the COUNTBLANK function, we can incorporate the ROWS function into the formula.
For example, if we have a table with data in columns A to C and headers in row 1, and we want to count the number of rows in which all cells are blank, we can use the formula =COUNTBLANK(A2:C2)=COLUMNS(A2:C2) and drag it down to the last row of the table.
This formula counts the blank cells in each row and compares the result to the number of columns, returning TRUE if all cells are blank.
Headers in tables can be included or excluded when using the COUNTBLANK function depending on the formula syntax used.
When using the COUNTBLANK function with tables, headers can be included or excluded depending on the formula syntax used.
To include headers, we can use the formula =COUNTBLANK(Table1), where Table1 is the name of the table, and Excel will count all blank cells, including those in the headers.
To exclude headers, however, we can use the formula =COUNTBLANK(Table1[Column1]), where Column1 is the name of the column, and Excel will only count the blank cells in that specific column.
The COUNTBLANK function can be used with conditional formatting in Excel.
Yes, the COUNTBLANK function can be used with conditional formatting in Excel to highlight blank cells within a range.
For example, if we want to highlight all blank cells in the range A1:A10, we can select the range and create a new conditional formatting rule based on the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1)>0.
This formula checks for each cell in the selected range if it is blank and returns TRUE if it is.
Cells that contain only spaces or zeros will be counted by the COUNTBLANK function.
The COUNTBLANK function treats cells that contain only spaces or zeros as blank cells and includes them in the count.
For example, if cells A1 and A2 contain a space and a zero respectively, the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:A2) will count both cells as blank.
The COUNTBLANK function differs from the COUNT function in that it counts only blank cells, while the COUNT function counts non-blank cells.
While the COUNTBLANK function counts only blank cells, the COUNT function counts all cells that contain any type of value, including numbers, text, logical values, and errors.
For example, if cells A1 to A5 contain values except for cell A3, the formula =COUNT(A1:A5) will count 4 cells, whereas the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:A5) will count only 1 blank cell (A3).
Non-contiguous ranges of cells can be used with the COUNTBLANK function.
The COUNTBLANK function can handle multiple ranges of cells that are not adjacent to each other.
For example, if cells A1 and A2, and B1 and B2 contain values except for cell A1, the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:A2,B1:B2) will count 1 blank cell (A1).
There are no specific limitations to the number of cells that the COUNTBLANK function can count.
The COUNTBLANK function can count a large number of cells, and there is no specific limitation to the number of cells it can handle.
However, using the COUNTBLANK function on a very large range of cells may slow down the calculation.
For example, if we have a range of cells A1:A1000000 where half of the cells are blank and the other half contain data, the formula =COUNTBLANK(A1:A1000000) will still work but may take longer to calculate than if we were only counting blanks in a smaller range.
COUNTBLANK related functions
- Use COUNT function to count the number of cells in a range that contains numbers.
- Use COUNTA function to count the number of cells in a range that are not empty.
- Use COUNTIF function to count the number of cells within a range that meet the given condition.
- Use COUNTIFS function to count the number of cells specified by a given set of conditions or criteria.
