<?php
$ledendb = $db->query("SELECT COUNT(id) AS counted FROM news ORDER BY id DESC");
while($leden = $ledendb->fetch( PDO::assoc)){
echo $leden['counted'];
}
?>

<?php
$leden1    = "SELECT COUNT(id) as aantal FROM `leden`";
$leden    = $speldb->query($leden1)->fetch(PDO::FETCH_BOTH);
 
echo $leden['aantal'];
?>

<?php
$leden    = $speldb->query("SELECT id FROM `leden`");
$aantal = $leden->rowcount();
 
echo $aantal;
?>