diff --git a/course/lib.php b/course/lib.php
index f3c81f7b6ce..a00348f3269 100644
--- a/course/lib.php
+++ b/course/lib.php
@@ -2265,7 +2265,9 @@ function print_category_info($category, $depth=0, $showcourses = false) {
         echo '<div class="categorylist">';
         $html = '';
         $cat = html_writer::link(new moodle_url('/course/category.php', array('id'=>$category->id)), $fullname, $catlinkcss);
-        $cat .= html_writer::tag('span', ' ('.count($courses).')', array('title'=>get_string('numberofcourses'), 'class'=>'numberofcourse'));
+        if (count($courses) > 0) {
+            $cat .= html_writer::tag('span', ' ('.count($courses).')', array('title'=>get_string('numberofcourses'), 'class'=>'numberofcourse'));
+        }
 
         if ($depth > 0) {
             for ($i=0; $i< $depth; $i++) {