SQL SELECT INTO Statement

The SELECT INTO statement is used to create a new table and insert data into it by selecting data from another table.

Syntax

SELECT column1, column2, column3, ...
INTO new_table
FROM existing_table
WHERE condition;

Example: Basic Usage

SELECT customer_id, customer_name, contact_name
INTO CustomersBackup
FROM Customers
WHERE country = 'Germany';

Example: Copy All Columns

SELECT *
INTO CustomersBackup
FROM Customers
WHERE country = 'Germany';

Sample Tables

Consider the following Customers table:

Customers:
| customer_id | customer_name | contact_name | country |
|-------------|---------------|--------------|---------|
| 1           | Alfreds Futterkiste | Maria Anders | Germany |
| 2           | Ana Trujillo Emparedados y helados | Ana Trujillo | Mexico |
| 3           | Antonio Moreno Taquería | Antonio Moreno | Mexico |
| 4           | Around the Horn | Thomas Hardy | UK |
| 5           | Berglunds snabbköp | Christina Berglund | Sweden |

Result of SELECT INTO

After running the first example query, the new table CustomersBackup would look like this:

CustomersBackup:
| customer_id | customer_name | contact_name |
|-------------|---------------|--------------|
| 1           | Alfreds Futterkiste | Maria Anders |
| 6           | Blauer See Delikatessen | Hanna Moos |
| 11          | Frankenversand | Peter Franken |
| 13          | G'moritz | Martin Sommer |

Important Notes

• The SELECT INTO statement creates a new table in the database by copying selected columns and data from an existing table.
• If you only want to insert data into an existing table, use the INSERT INTO SELECT statement instead.