Question: ![Google Contacts](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OIWc2.png)

What is the reason for the **(1)** in **My Contacts (1)** on the left? I have clicked the link, but it has no effect. I've refreshed the page a dozen times and still get the same count. Is there a default contact in my list? Might there be any sort of pending process in the background?

Answer: 
You do appear to have one (blank) contact line/entry with a checkbox to the left.

![Blank contact record](https://i.stack.imgur.com/SRGcB.png)

You say this record is entirely empty, however, it is possible to create an almost empty contact record with a single space in one of the fields.

Whilst it doesn't seem possible to easily *create* an entirely empty contact record, you can edit that contact record, delete the space (or any data it might contain), save the record, and end up with an entirely blank contact record. Note that Gmail auto-saves contact records, so this could happen without you explicitly do so.

Presumably you can delete this "blank" entry to have an entirely empty contacts list?
I mentioned that the record is entirely empty, 

I'll try to display what I've done:
1) tried with `NEW CONTACT` and entered `test@gmail.com` in the field `Email` and clicked outside the form.

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/l3ZhE.png)

Next, clicked the same field, clikd `Ctrl` + `A` and `Delete`
![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Zh9yL.png)

Now click `My Contacts`, We still see **My Contacts(1)**