Multiple Joins

Updated Aug 28, 2019 ·

Sample Tables

Here is the schema for the sample World table:

To download the actual files, you can get them from my Github repository.

• states.csv
• presidents.csv
• prime_ministers.csv
• prime_minister_terms.csv
• monarchs.csv

Multiple Joins

We can also use SQL to combine multiple joins in a single query. Start with an INNER JOIN, then add another INNER JOIN to the result. Adjust table and field names based on which table's id you're using for the join.

SELECT *
FROM left_table 
INNER JOIN right_table
ON left_table.id = right_table.id 
INNER JOIN another_table 
ON left_table.id = another_table.id;

First Join

For example, to identify countries that have both a president and a prime minister, and then find out the year each prime minister started their term, we can use the prime_minister_terms table, which includes prime ministers' names and their start years.

We can use INNER JOIN between the presidents and prime_ministers tables, and use the country as the matching value. This join provides a combined table of countries with both a president and a prime minister. We'll also add the country names and the continent fields to provide more details.

SELECT p1.country, 
       p1.continent,
       prime_minister 
       president, 
FROM prime_ministers as p1  
INNER JOIN presidents as p2 
USING (country);

Output:

country	continent	prime_minister	president
India	Asia	Narendra Modi	Ram Nath Kovind
Germany	Europe	Angela Merkel	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Germany	Europe	Angela Merkel	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Germany	Europe	Angela Merkel	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Germany	Europe	Angela Merkel	Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Italy	Europe	Mario Draghi	Sergio Mattarella

Extending the Join

Next, join this result with the prime_minister_terms table on the prime_minister field. The final output will show countries with both leaders and the years their prime ministers took office.

SELECT p1.country, 
       p1.continent,
       president, 
       prime_minister,
       pm_start
FROM prime_ministers as p1  

INNER JOIN presidents as p2 
USING (country)

INNER JOIN prime_minister_terms as p3 
USING (prime_minister);

Joining Multiple Keys

Note that the values in the join fields don’t always match one-to-one between tables. Sometimes, multiple records in the right table correspond to a single record in the left table.

SELECT *
FROM left_table 
INNER JOIN right_table
ON left_table.id = right_table.id 
    AND left_table.date = right_table.date

To refine your results, add another join condition using the AND keyword in the ON clause. For instance, you might join on both id and date fields. This approach ensures that records match on both criteria.