> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://mariadb.com/docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/bit-functions-and-operators/bit_count.md).

# BIT\_COUNT

## Syntax

```bnf
BIT_COUNT(N)
```

## Description

Returns the number of bits that are set in the argument N.

## Examples

```sql
SELECT BIT_COUNT(29), BIT_COUNT(b'101010');
+---------------+----------------------+
| BIT_COUNT(29) | BIT_COUNT(b'101010') |
+---------------+----------------------+
|             4 |                    3 |
+---------------+----------------------+
```

<sub>*This page is licensed: GPLv2, originally from*</sub> [<sub>*fill\_help\_tables.sql*</sub>](https://github.com/MariaDB/server/blob/main/scripts/fill_help_tables.sql)

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