HAVING - SPARQLqueries

Understanding HAVING

HAVING filters the results of GROUP BY based on aggregate values. While FILTER operates on individual rows before grouping, HAVING operates on groups after aggregation.

Clause	When it applies	Use case
`FILTER`	Before grouping	Filter individual items
`HAVING`	After grouping	Filter based on aggregate values

Basic HAVING Examples

Countries with Many Cities

Run ↗

SELECT ?country ?countryLabel (COUNT(?city) AS ?cityCount)
WHERE {
  ?city wdt:P31 wd:Q515 ;
        wdt:P17 ?country .
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en". }
}
GROUP BY ?country ?countryLabel
HAVING (COUNT(?city) > 1000)
ORDER BY DESC(?cityCount)

Aggregate Only countries with more than 1000 cities

This query groups cities by country and uses HAVING to keep only countries with more than 1000 cities. The HAVING clause references the same aggregate expression used in SELECT.

Prolific Authors

Run ↗

SELECT ?author ?authorLabel (COUNT(?work) AS ?workCount)
WHERE {
  ?work wdt:P50 ?author .
  ?author wdt:P31 wd:Q5 .
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en". }
}
GROUP BY ?author ?authorLabel
HAVING (COUNT(?work) >= 100)
ORDER BY DESC(?workCount)
LIMIT 20

Aggregate Authors with 100+ works attributed to them

Find the most prolific authors by filtering for those with at least 100 works. The HAVING clause uses >= to include authors with exactly 100 works.

HAVING with Multiple Conditions

Countries with Population Constraints

Run ↗

SELECT ?continent ?continentLabel
  (COUNT(?country) AS ?countryCount)
  (SUM(?population) AS ?totalPop)
WHERE {
  ?country wdt:P31 wd:Q6256 ;
           wdt:P30 ?continent ;
           wdt:P1082 ?population .
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en". }
}
GROUP BY ?continent ?continentLabel
HAVING (COUNT(?country) > 10 && SUM(?population) > 100000000)
ORDER BY DESC(?totalPop)

Aggregate Continents with 10+ countries AND 100M+ population

HAVING can combine multiple conditions using logical operators (&& for AND, || for OR). This query finds continents with both many countries and large total populations.

HAVING with Different Aggregates

Countries with High Average Elevation

Run ↗

SELECT ?country ?countryLabel (AVG(?elevation) AS ?avgElevation)
WHERE {
  ?mountain wdt:P31 wd:Q8502 ;
            wdt:P17 ?country ;
            wdt:P2044 ?elevation .
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en". }
}
GROUP BY ?country ?countryLabel
HAVING (AVG(?elevation) > 3000)
ORDER BY DESC(?avgElevation)
LIMIT 15

Aggregate Countries whose mountains average over 3000m

This query finds mountainous countries by filtering for those where the average elevation of mountains exceeds 3000 meters. HAVING works with any aggregate function.

Key Entities Used in Examples

Entity	Description
`wd:Q5`	Human
`wd:Q515`	City
`wd:Q6256`	Country
`wd:Q8502`	Mountain
`wdt:P17`	Country (location)
`wdt:P30`	Continent
`wdt:P31`	Instance of (type)
`wdt:P50`	Author
`wdt:P1082`	Population
`wdt:P2044`	Elevation above sea level