Web/CSS/ empty

The :empty CSS pseudo-class represents any element that has no children. Children can be either element nodes or text (including whitespace). Comments, processing instructions, and CSS content do not affect whether an element is considered empty.

Note: In Selectors Level 4 the :empty pseudo-class was changed to act like :-moz-only-whitespace, but no browser currently supports this yet.

/* Selects any <div> that contains no content */
div:empty {
  background: lime;
}

Syntax

:empty

Examples

HTML

<div class="box"><!-- I will be lime. --></div>
<div class="box">I will be pink.</div>
<div class="box">
    <!-- I will be pink in older browsers because of the whitespace around this comment. -->
</div>
<div class="box">
    <p><!-- I will be pink in all browsers because of the non-collapsible whitespace and elements around this comment. --></p>
</div>

CSS

body {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: space-around;
}

.box {
  background: pink;
  height: 80px;
  width: 80px;
}

.box:empty {
  background: lime;
}

Result

Accessibility concerns

Assistive technology such as screen readers cannot parse interactive content that is empty. All interactive content must have an accessible name, which is created by providing a text value for the interactive control's parent element (anchors, buttons, etc.). Accessible names expose the interactive control to the accessibility tree, an API that communicates information useful for assistive technologies.

The text that provides the interactive control's accessible name can be hidden using a combination of properties that remove it visually from the screen but keep it parseable by assistive technology. This is commonly used for buttons that rely solely on an icon to convey purpose.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
Selectors Level 4The definition of 'the `:empty` pseudo-class' in that specification.	Working Draft	Changed to act like `:-moz-only-whitespace`.
Selectors Level 3The definition of 'the `:empty` pseudo-class' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`:empty`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 9	Opera Full support 9.5	Safari Full support 3.1	WebView Android Full support 2	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 10.1	Safari iOS Full support 3.1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
Matches elements with whitespace	Chrome No support No	Edge No support No	Firefox No support No Notes' No support No Notes' Notes' See bug 1106296.	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari No support No	WebView Android No support No	Chrome Android No support No	Firefox Android No support No	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android No support No

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.