# Retrieving Partition Information

+ Partition metadata is provided by **`information_schema.partitions`** table
+ Example: Retrieves database tables and their partitions information
```10
tidb> SELECT table_name,
 -> GROUP_CONCAT(partition_name)
 -> FROM ~!@information_schema.partitions@!~
 -> WHERE table_schema='test'
 -> GROUP BY table_name;
+-------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| table_name  | GROUP_CONCAT(partition_name ORDER BY partition_name) |
+-------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| users       | p0,p1,p2,p3                                          |
| subscribers | p0,p1,p2,p3                                          |
+-------------+------------------------------------------------------+
2 rows in set (0.01 sec)
```

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To assess the efficiency of queries performed on partitioned tables, utilize the `EXPLAIN PARTITIONS` statement. The details of the `EXPLAIN` statement are discussed in the chapter named "Query Optimization."