SQL INSERT INTO SELECT

The SQL INSERT INTO SELECT Statement

The INSERT INTO SELECT statement duplicates data from one table and inserts it into another.

It necessitates matching data types between the source and target tables.

Note: that the existing records in the target table remain unaffected.

INSERT INTO SELECT Syntax

Duplicate all columns from one table to another.

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;

Demo Database

In this tutorial, we’ll utilize the widely known Northwind sample database.

Here is an excerpt 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.	05021	Mexico
3	Antonio Moreno Taquería	Antonio Moreno	Mataderos 2312	México D.F.	05023	Mexico

And here’s a portion of the “Suppliers” table:

SupplierID	SupplierName	ContactName	Address	City	Postal Code	Country
1	Exotic Liquid	Charlotte Cooper	49 Gilbert St.	Londona	EC1 4SD	UK
2	New Orleans Cajun Delights	Shelley Burke	P.O. Box 78934	New Orleans	70117	USA
3	Grandma Kelly’s Homestead	Regina Murphy	707 Oxford Rd.	Ann Arbor	48104	USA

SQL INSERT INTO SELECT Examples

Example

Duplicate the “Suppliers” table into “Customers” (columns without data will be populated with NULL).

INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, City, Country)
SELECT SupplierName, City, Country FROM Suppliers;

Example

Replicate the “Suppliers” table into “Customers” (populate all columns).

INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, ContactName, Address, City, PostalCode, Country)
SELECT SupplierName, ContactName, Address, City, PostalCode, Country FROM Suppliers;

Example

Replicate solely the German suppliers into the “Customers” table.

INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerName, City, Country)
SELECT SupplierName, City, Country FROM Suppliers
WHERE Country=‘Germany’;