The SQL ORDER BY Keyword
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;
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;
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;
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;