---
title: "count(where:)"
framework: swift
role: symbol
role_heading: Instance Method
path: "swift/unsafebufferpointer/count(where:)"
---

# count(where:)

Returns the number of elements in the sequence that satisfy the given predicate.

## Declaration

```swift
func count<E>(where predicate: (Self.Element) throws(E) -> Bool) throws(E) -> Int where E : Error
```

## Parameters

- `predicate`: A closure that takes each element of the sequence as its argument and returns a Boolean value indicating whether the element should be included in the count.

## Return Value

Return Value The number of elements in the sequence that satisfy the given predicate.

## Discussion

Discussion You can use this method to count the number of elements that pass a test. The following example finds the number of names that are fewer than five characters long: let names = ["Jacqueline", "Ian", "Amy", "Juan", "Soroush", "Tiffany"] let shortNameCount = names.count(where: { $0.count < 5 }) // shortNameCount == 3 To find the number of times a specific element appears in the sequence, use the equal to operator (==) in the closure to test for a match. let birds = ["duck", "duck", "duck", "duck", "goose"] let duckCount = birds.count(where: { $0 == "duck" }) // duckCount == 4 The sequence must be finite.