How to Count Array Elements, Unique Values, and Occurrences in PHP

1. Counting the total number of array elements

PHP provides the count() function, which returns the number of elements in an array.

$fruits = array("apple", "orange", "banana", "pear");
echo count($fruits); // outputs 4

The example creates an array with four items and prints 4 using count().

2. Counting distinct elements in an array

To obtain the number of occurrences for each unique value, use array_count_values(). It returns a new array where the keys are the distinct elements and the values are their respective counts.

$fruits = array("apple", "orange", "banana", "pear", "apple", "apple");
$count_fruits = array_count_values($fruits);
print_r($count_fruits);

Array (
    [apple] => 3
    [orange] => 1
    [banana] => 1
    [pear] => 1
)

The output shows that "apple" appears three times, while the other fruits appear once each.

3. Counting the occurrences of a specific element

There are several ways to count how many times a particular value, such as "apple", appears.

Method A – Using a foreach loop :

$fruits = array("apple", "orange", "banana", "pear", "apple", "apple");
$count_apple = 0;
foreach ($fruits as $fruit) {
    if ($fruit == "apple") {
        $count_apple++;
    }
}
echo $count_apple; // outputs 3

Method B – Using array_filter with an anonymous function :

$fruits = array("apple", "orange", "banana", "pear", "apple", "apple");
$count_apple = count(array_filter($fruits, function($fruit) {
    return $fruit == "apple";
}));
echo $count_apple; // outputs 3

Both approaches yield the same result, and you can choose the one that best fits your coding style or performance needs.

In summary, PHP offers multiple built‑in functions ( count(), array_count_values(), array_filter()) and looping constructs to efficiently count array elements, distinct values, or specific occurrences, allowing developers to select the most appropriate method for their scenario.