How can I get a word count for each section in a Word document?

Question

How can I get a word count for each section in a Word document?

Oren Lifshitz 40

Hi,

I'm working with a large Word document that's broken into many sections. Is there an easy way to get a word count for the words in each section, without having to select each section individually?

Thank you,

Viorel 126.9K

If you are familiar with macros and VBA, you can use the built-in dialog for each section, for example:

Sub DisplayWordCountDialogs()

    Dim d
    Set d = Dialogs(wdDialogToolsWordCount)
    
    Dim s As Section
    For Each s In ActiveDocument.Sections
    
        s.Range.Select
        d.Show

    Next

End Sub

To display just the word counts for each section:

Sub DisplayWordCounts()

    Dim d
    Set d = Dialogs(wdDialogToolsWordCount)
    
    Dim s As Section
    For Each s In ActiveDocument.Sections
    
        s.Range.Select
        d.Execute
        
        MsgBox d.Words
    Next

End Sub

Try this code with a small document first. Adjust it according to your needs.

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Viorel 126.9K Reputation points

2025-07-20T19:31:33.44+00:00

If you are familiar with macros and VBA, you can use the built-in dialog for each section, for example:

Sub DisplayWordCountDialogs() Dim d Set d = Dialogs(wdDialogToolsWordCount) Dim s As Section For Each s In ActiveDocument.Sections s.Range.Select d.Show Next End Sub

To display just the word counts for each section:

Sub DisplayWordCounts() Dim d Set d = Dialogs(wdDialogToolsWordCount) Dim s As Section For Each s In ActiveDocument.Sections s.Range.Select d.Execute MsgBox d.Words Next End Sub

Try this code with a small document first. Adjust it according to your needs.

Answer 1

HansV 462.6K

Word does not have a built-in way to do that. You might run the following macro (a modification of the code in https://word.tips.net/T000519_Word_Count_for_a_Section.html)

Sub WordCount()
    Dim NumSec As Long
    Dim S As Long
    Dim Summary As String
    NumSec = ActiveDocument.Sections.Count
    Summary = "Word Count" & vbCrLf
    For S = 1 To NumSec
        Summary = Summary & "Section " & S & ": " & _
            ActiveDocument.Sections(S).Range.ComputeStatistics(wdStatisticWords) & _
            vbCrLf
    Next S
    Summary = Summary & "Document: " & _
        ActiveDocument.Range.ComputeStatistics(wdStatisticWords)
    MsgBox Summary
End Sub

Oren Lifshitz 40 Reputation points

2025-07-20T20:06:20.6833333+00:00

Thank you! works perfectly!

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How can I get a word count for each section in a Word document?

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