diff --git a/book/src/editor.md b/book/src/editor.md
index feec09fd0e34..5a8332fd5e64 100644
--- a/book/src/editor.md
+++ b/book/src/editor.md
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ The following statusline elements can be configured:
 | `file-type` | The type of the opened file |
 | `diagnostics` | The number of warnings and/or errors |
 | `workspace-diagnostics` | The number of warnings and/or errors on workspace |
-| `selections` | The number of active selections |
+| `selections` | The primary selection index out of the number of active selections |
 | `primary-selection-length` | The number of characters currently in primary selection |
 | `position` | The cursor position |
 | `position-percentage` | The cursor position as a percentage of the total number of lines |
diff --git a/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs b/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs
index 7437cbd074e5..d0df29899aea 100644
--- a/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs
+++ b/helix-term/src/ui/statusline.rs
@@ -305,10 +305,16 @@ fn render_selections<F>(context: &mut RenderContext, write: F)
 where
     F: Fn(&mut RenderContext, String, Option<Style>) + Copy,
 {
-    let count = context.doc.selection(context.view.id).len();
+    let selection = context.doc.selection(context.view.id);
+    let count = selection.len();
     write(
         context,
-        format!(" {} sel{} ", count, if count == 1 { "" } else { "s" }),
+        format!(
+            "{}/{} sel{} ",
+            selection.primary_index() + 1,
+            count,
+            if count == 1 { "" } else { "s" }
+        ),
         None,
     );
 }