The INSERT INTO SELECT statement copies data from one table and inserts it into another table.
The INSERT INTO SELECT statement requires that the data types in source and target tables match.
Copy all columns from one table to another table:
INSERT INTO table2
SELECT *
FROM table1
WHERE condition
Copy only some columns from one table into another table:
INSERT INTO table2 (column1, column2, column3, ...)
SELECT column1, column2, column3, ...
FROM table1
WHERE condition
In this tutorial we will use the well-known Northwind sample database.
Below is a selection from the "Customers" table:
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. | 5021 | Mexico |
3 | Antonio Moreno Taquería | Antonio Moreno | Mataderos 2312 | México D.F. | 5023 | 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 |
And a selection from the "Suppliers" table:
SupplierID | SupplierName | ContactName | Address | City | PostalCode | Country | Phone |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Exotic Liquid | Charlotte Cooper | 49 Gilbert St. | Londona | EC1 4SD | UK | (171) 555-2222 |
2 | New Orleans Cajun Delights | Shelley Burke | P.O. Box 78934 | New Orleans | 70117 | USA | (100) 555-4822 |
3 | Grandma Kelly's Homestead | Regina Murphy | 707 Oxford Rd. | Ann Arbor | 48104 | USA | (313) 555-5735 |
4 | Tokyo Traders | Yoshi Nagase | 9-8 Sekimai Musashino-shi | Tokyo | 100 | Japan | (03) 3555-5011 |
5 | Cooperativa de Quesos 'Las Cabras' | Antonio del Valle Saavedra | Calle del Rosal 4 | Oviedo | 33007 | Spain | (98) 598 76 54 |
The following SQL statement copies "Suppliers" into "Customers" (the columns that are not filled with data, will contain NULL):
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, City, Country)
SELECT SupplierName, City, Country
FROM Suppliers
The following SQL statement copies "Suppliers" into "Customers" (fill all columns):
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, ContactName, Address, City, PostalCode, Country)
SELECT SupplierName, ContactName, Address, City, PostalCode, Country
FROM Suppliers
The following SQL statement copies only the German suppliers into "Customers":
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, City, Country)
SELECT SupplierName, City, Country
FROM Suppliers
WHERE Country = 'Germany'