diff --git a/wp-admin/index.php b/wp-admin/index.php
index 48989a18a8..d23b9dbb64 100644
--- a/wp-admin/index.php
+++ b/wp-admin/index.php
@@ -37,13 +37,13 @@ $today = current_time('mysql', 1);
 <h3 class="reallynow"><?php _e('Right Now'); ?> <a href="post-new.php" class="rbutton"><?php _e('Write a New Post'); ?></a> <a href="page-new.php" class="rbutton"><?php _e('Write a New Page'); ?></a></h3>
 
 <?php
-$num_posts = $wpdb->get_var( "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM $wpdb->posts WHERE post_type = 'post' AND post_status = 'publish'" );
+$num_posts = wp_count_posts('post', 'publish');
 
-$num_pages = $wpdb->get_var( "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM $wpdb->posts WHERE post_type = 'page' AND post_status = 'publish'" );
+$num_pages = wp_count_posts('page', 'publish');
 
-$num_drafts = $wpdb->get_var( "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM $wpdb->posts WHERE post_type = 'post' AND post_status = 'draft'" );
+$num_drafts = wp_count_posts('post', 'draft');
 
-$num_future = $wpdb->get_var( "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM $wpdb->posts WHERE post_type = 'post' AND post_status = 'future'" );
+$num_future = wp_count_posts('post', 'future');
 
 $num_comments = $wpdb->get_var("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM $wpdb->comments WHERE comment_approved = '1'");
 
diff --git a/wp-includes/post.php b/wp-includes/post.php
index 923d943b22..193c7c256c 100644
--- a/wp-includes/post.php
+++ b/wp-includes/post.php
@@ -789,6 +789,25 @@ function sanitize_post_field($field, $value, $post_id, $context) {
 	return $value;
 }
 
+/**
+ * wp_count_posts() - Count number of posts with a given type and status
+ *
+ * {@internal Missing Long Description}}
+ *
+ * @package WordPress
+ * @subpackage Post
+ * @since 2.5
+ *
+ * @param string $type Post type
+ * @param string $status Post status
+ * @return int Number of posts
+ */
+function wp_count_posts( $type = 'post', $status = 'publish' ) {
+	global $wpdb;
+
+	return $wpdb->get_var( $wpdb->prepare("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM $wpdb->posts WHERE post_type = %s AND post_status = %s", $type, $status) );
+}
+
 /**
  * wp_delete_post() - Deletes a Post
  *