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SQL TOP, LIMIT or ROWNUM Clause

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The SQL SELECT TOP Clause

The SELECT TOP clause is used to specify the number of records to return.

The SELECT TOP clause is useful on large tables with thousands of records. Returning a large number of records can impact on performance.

Note: Not all database systems support the SELECT TOP clause. MySQL supports the LIMIT clause to select a limited number of records, while Oracle uses ROWNUM.

SQL Server / MS Access Syntax:

SELECT TOP number|percent column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition;

MySQL Syntax:

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE condition
LIMIT number;

Oracle Syntax:

SELECT column_name(s)
FROM table_name
WHERE ROWNUM <= number;

Demo Database

Below is a selection from the "Customers" table in the Northwind sample database:

CustomerID CustomerName ContactName Address City PostalCode Country
1

 Alfreds Futterkiste Maria Anders Obere Str. 57 Berlin 12209 Germany
2 Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados Ana Trujillo Avda. de la Constitución 2222 México D.F. 05021 Mexico
3 Antonio Moreno Taquería Antonio Moreno Mataderos 2312 México D.F. 05023 Mexico
4

 Around the Horn Thomas Hardy 120 Hanover Sq. London WA1 1DP UK
5 Berglunds snabbköp Christina Berglund Berguvsvägen 8 Luleå S-958 22 Sweden

SQL TOP, LIMIT and ROWNUM Examples

The following SQL statement selects the first three records from the "Customers" table:

Example

SELECT TOP 3 * FROM Customers;
Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using the LIMIT clause:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
LIMIT 3;
Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using ROWNUM:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE ROWNUM <= 3;

SQL TOP PERCENT Example

The following SQL statement selects the first 50% of the records from the "Customers" table:

Example

SELECT TOP 50 PERCENT * FROM Customers;
Try it Yourself »

ADD a WHERE CLAUSE

The following SQL statement selects the first three records from the "Customers" table, where the country is "Germany":

Example

SELECT TOP 3 * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany';
Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using the LIMIT clause:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany'
LIMIT 3;
Try it Yourself »

The following SQL statement shows the equivalent example using ROWNUM:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country='Germany' AND ROWNUM <= 3;

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