lecting by numeric index: SELECT * FROM fruits WHERE fruit=2; +----+--------+---------+ | id | fruit | bushels | +----+--------+---------+ | 3 | orange | 25 | +----+--------+---------+ Sorting is according to the index value: CREATE TABLE enums (a ENUM('2','1')); INSERT INTO enums VALUES ('1'),('2'); SELECT * FROM enums ORDER BY a ASC; +------+ | a | +------+ | 2 | | 1 | +------+ It's easy to get confused between returning the enum integer with the stored value, so we don't suggest using ENUM to store numerals. The first example returns the 1st indexed field ('2' has an index value of 1, as it's defined first), while the second example returns the string value '1'. SELECT * FROM enums WHERE a=1; +------+ | a | +------+ | 2 | +------+ SELECT * FROM enums WHERE a='1'; +------+ | a | +------+ | 1 | +------+ URL: https://mariadb.com/kb/en/enum/https://mariadb.com/kb/en/enum/