my $doc = $word->Application->Selection;

# Selection can be the entire doc or refined to a sub-set of text
# It is easier to use the functions that exist in word to do the work.
$num_paragraphs = $selection->Paragraphs->{Count};
$num_words = $selection->Words->{Count}; 
$num_chars = $selection->Characters->{Count};
$num_pages = $selection->pagenumbers->{Count};