SQL ORDER BY Keyword

SQL ORDER BY Keyword : SQL ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the result-set in ascending or descending order.

• The ORDER BY keyword is used to sort the result-set in ascending or descending order.
• The ORDER BY keyword sorts the records in ascending order by default. To sort the records in descending order, use the DESC keyword.

ORDER BY Syntax

SELECT column1, column2, …
FROM table_name
ORDER BY column1, column2, … ASC|DESC;

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

ORDER BY Example

The following SQL statement selects all customers from the “Customers” table, sorted by the “Country” column:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
ORDER BY Country;

Output

Number of Records: 3

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
12	Cactus Comidas para llevar	Patricio Simpson	Cerrito 333	Buenos Aires	1010	Argentina
54	Océano Atlántico Ltda.	Yvonne Moncada	Ing. Gustavo Moncada 8585 Piso 20-A	Buenos Aires	1010	Argentina
64	Rancho grande	Sergio Gutiérrez	Av. del Libertador 900	Buenos Aires	1010	Argentina

 

ORDER BY DESC Example

The following SQL statement selects all customers from the “Customers” table, sorted DESCENDING by the “Country” column:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
ORDER BY Country DESC;

Output

Number of Records: 4

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
33	GROSELLA-Restaurante	Manuel Pereira	5ª Ave. Los Palos Grandes	Caracas	1081	Venezuela
35	HILARIÓN-Abastos	Carlos Hernández	Carrera 22 con Ave. Carlos Soublette #8-35	San Cristóbal	5022	Venezuela
46	LILA-Supermercado	Carlos González	Carrera 52 con Ave. Bolívar #65-98 Llano Largo	Barquisimeto	3508	Venezuela
47	LINO-Delicateses	Felipe Izquierdo	Ave. 5 de Mayo Porlamar	I. de Margarita	4980	Venezuela

 

ORDER BY Several Columns Example

The following SQL statement selects all customers from the “Customers” table, sorted by the “Country” and the “CustomerName” column:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
ORDER BY Country, CustomerName;

Output

Number of Records: 9

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
12	Cactus Comidas para llevar	Patricio Simpson	Cerrito 333	Buenos Aires	1010	Argentina
54	Océano Atlántico Ltda.	Yvonne Moncada	Ing. Gustavo Moncada 8585 Piso 20-A	Buenos Aires	1010	Argentina
64	Rancho grande	Sergio Gutiérrez	Av. del Libertador 900	Buenos Aires	1010	Argentina
20	Ernst Handel	Roland Mendel	Kirchgasse 6	Graz	8010	Austria
59	Piccolo und mehr	Georg Pipps	Geislweg 14	Salzburg	5020	Austria
50	Maison Dewey	Catherine Dewey	Rue Joseph-Bens 532	Bruxelles	B-1180	Belgium
76	Suprêmes délices	Pascale Cartrain	Boulevard Tirou, 255	Charleroi	B-6000	Belgium
15	Comércio Mineiro	Pedro Afonso	Av. dos Lusíadas, 23	São Paulo	05432-043	Brazil
21	Familia Arquibaldo	Aria Cruz	Rua Orós, 92	São Paulo	05442-030	Brazil

 

ORDER BY Several Columns Example 2

The following SQL statement selects all customers from the “Customers” table, sorted ascending by the “Country” and descending by the “CustomerName” column:

Example

SELECT * FROM Customers
ORDER BY Country ASC, CustomerName DESC;

Output

Number of Records: 8

CustomerID	CustomerName	ContactName	Address	City	PostalCode	Country
64	Rancho grande	Sergio Gutiérrez	Av. del Libertador 900	Buenos Aires	1010	Argentina
54	Océano Atlántico Ltda.	Yvonne Moncada	Ing. Gustavo Moncada 8585 Piso 20-A	Buenos Aires	1010	Argentina
12	Cactus Comidas para llevar	Patricio Simpson	Cerrito 333	Buenos Aires	1010	Argentina
59	Piccolo und mehr	Georg Pipps	Geislweg 14	Salzburg	5020	Austria
20	Ernst Handel	Roland Mendel	Kirchgasse 6	Graz	8010	Austria
76	Suprêmes délices	Pascale Cartrain	Boulevard Tirou, 255	Charleroi	B-6000	Belgium
50	Maison Dewey	Catherine Dewey	Rue Joseph-Bens 532	Bruxelles	B-1180	Belgium
88	Wellington Importadora	Paula Parente	Rua do Mercado, 12	Resende	08737-363	Brazil