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In this paper we describe a singly exponential algorithm for computing the first Betti number of a given semi-algebraic set. Singly exponential algorithms for computing the zeroth Betti number, and the Euler–Poincaré characteristic, were known before. No singly exponential algorithm was known for computing any of the individual Betti numbers other than the zeroth one. As a consequence we also obtain algorithms for computing semi-algebraic descriptions of the semi-algebraically connected components of any given real algebraic or semi-algebraic set in singly exponential time, which improves on the complexity of the previously published algorithms for this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]