You can use array_count_values function
$array = array('apple', 'orange', 'pear', 'banana', 'apple',
'pear', 'kiwi', 'kiwi', 'kiwi');
print_r(array_count_values($array));
will output
Array
(
[apple] => 2
[orange] => 1
[pear] => 2
etc...
)