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title: BIT_LENGTH
collection: developer
version: current
locale: en-us
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canonical_url: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/bit-length.html
source_site: developer.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
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products:
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---
# `BIT_LENGTH`

**Applies to:** ✅ Data 360 SQL ✅ Tableau Hyper API

Returns the number of bits in a string.

## Syntax

```sql
bit_length(<string>)
```

## Arguments

### Required

- `<string>`: The string to measure.

## Returns

Returns an integer representing the number of bits in the string.

## Considerations

- For UTF-8 strings, multi-byte characters contribute more bits proportionally.
- Each byte equals 8 bits.

## Examples

### Calculate Bit Length

Get the bit length of a string.

```sql
SELECT bit_length('jose') AS result;
```

Returns `32` (4 characters × 8 bits per byte).

## Related Documentation

- [String Types](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/datatype/string.md)