The SQL SELECT TOP Clause
The SELECT TOP clause is used to limit 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 performance.
The following SQL selects only the first 3 records of the "Customers" table:
Example
SELECT TOP 3 * FROM Customers;
Note: Not all database systems support the
SELECT TOPclause. MySQL supports theLIMITclause to select a limited number of records, while Oracle usesFETCH FIRST n ROWS ONLY.
Syntax for SQL Server / MS Access
<p><code class="sqlHigh">
SELECT TOP <em>number</em>|<em>percent</em> <em>column_name(s)</em><br/>
FROM <em>table_name<br/></em>WHERE <em>condition</em>;</code></p>
Syntax for MySQL
<p><code class="sqlHigh">
SELECT <em>column_name(s)</em><br/>
FROM <em>table_name<br/></em>WHERE <em>condition</em><br/>
LIMIT <em>number</em>;</code></p>
Syntax for Oracle 12+
<p><code class="sqlHigh">
SELECT <em>column_name(s)</em><br/>
FROM <em>table_name<br/></em>ORDER BY <em>
column_name(s)</em><br/>
FETCH FIRST <em>number</em> ROWS ONLY;</code></p>
Demo Database
Below is a selection from the Customers table used in the examples:
| 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 |
MySQL - The LIMIT Clause
The following SQL shows the equivalent example for MySQL:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
LIMIT 3;
Oracle - The FETCH FIRST Clause
The following SQL shows the equivalent example for Oracle:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
FETCH FIRST 3 ROWS ONLY;
SQL TOP PERCENT Example
Here we will use the SELECT TOP clause with the percent syntax.
The following SQL selects the first 50% of the records from the "Customers" table (for SQL Server/MS Access):
Example
SELECT TOP 50 PERCENT * FROM Customers;
The following SQL shows the equivalent example for Oracle:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
FETCH FIRST 50 PERCENT ROWS ONLY;
SELECT TOP with WHERE
The following SQL selects the first three records from the "Customers" table, where Country is "Germany" (for SQL Server/MS Access):
Example
SELECT TOP 3 * FROM Customers
WHERE Country = 'Germany';
The following SQL shows the equivalent example for MySQL:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country = 'Germany'
LIMIT 3;
The following SQL shows the equivalent example for Oracle:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
WHERE Country = 'Germany'
FETCH FIRST 3 ROWS ONLY;
SELECT TOP and ORDER BY
Add the ORDER BY keyword when you want to sort the result, and return the first 3 records of the sorted result.
For SQL Server and MS Access:
Example
SELECT TOP 3 * FROM Customers
ORDER BY CustomerName DESC;
The following SQL shows the equivalent example for MySQL:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
ORDER BY CustomerName DESC
LIMIT 3;
The following SQL shows the equivalent example for Oracle:
Example
SELECT * FROM Customers
ORDER BY CustomerName DESC
FETCH FIRST 3 ROWS ONLY;
