my SELECT COUNT query returns an array not an integer
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I've looked at other similar questions on Stacked and even used an example, which I will post below that says it should return an integer but I still get an array... 

So.. How come I'm getting an array and how do I get an integer instead?

	function user_exists($username){
		$result = mysql_query("SELECT COUNT(username) FROM tpo_logins");

		// Verify it worked
		if (!$result) echo mysql_error();
		
		$row = mysql_fetch_row($result);
		
		// Should show you an integer result.
		print_r($row);
		
		
		}

This outputs: "Array ( [0] => 1 )". The comment says it should be an integer.
Any help greatly appreciated!