SELECT basics

Introducing the BBC Table of Countries

This tutorial introduces SQL as a query language. We will be using the SELECT command on the table bbc:

name	region	area	population	gdp
Afghanistan	South Asia	652225	26000000
Albania	Europe	28728	3200000	6656000000
Algeria	Middle East	2400000	32900000	75012000000
Andorra	Europe	468	64000
...

The example shows the population of 'France'. Strings should be in 'single quotes';

Show the population of Germany

SELECT population FROM bbc
  WHERE name = 'France'

SELECT population FROM bbc
  WHERE name = 'Germany'

This query shows the population density population/area for each country where the area is over 5,000,000 km².

Show the per capita gdp: gdp/population for each country where the area is over 5,000,000 km²

SELECT name, population/area FROM bbc
  WHERE area > 5000000

SELECT name, gdp/population FROM bbc
  WHERE area > 5000000