- and counting used to indicate that a number or amount is going up and is set to rise further.

☞ The expression originated in the terminology of countdowns (e.g. for the launch of a rocket), to indicate that a count was still in progress (as in 'T minus 15 minutes and counting')-although in a literal countdown, of course, the number goes down rather than up.

2000Art Business News In recent years, the number of millionaires in this country has doubled to 8 million and counting.