diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Database/Query/PagerSelectExtender.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Database/Query/PagerSelectExtender.php
index 95cdf53..3bc9dd2 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Database/Query/PagerSelectExtender.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Database/Query/PagerSelectExtender.php
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 namespace Drupal\Core\Database\Query;
 
 use Drupal\Core\Database\Connection;
+use Drupal\Core\Pager\PagerFactoryInterface;
 
 /**
  * Query extender for pager queries.
@@ -25,6 +26,10 @@ class PagerSelectExtender extends SelectExtender {
    * The highest element we've autogenerated so far.
    *
    * @var int
+   *
+   * @deprecated as of Drupal 8.1.x, will be removed in Drupal 9.0.0.
+   *   Use \Drupal::service('pager.factory')->getFirstAvailableElementId()
+   *   instead.
    */
   static $maxElement = 0;
 
@@ -36,11 +41,18 @@ class PagerSelectExtender extends SelectExtender {
   protected $limit = 10;
 
   /**
-   * The unique ID of this pager on this page.
+   * The pager object.
    *
-   * @var int
+   * @var \Drupal\Core\Pager\PagerInterface
    */
-  protected $element = NULL;
+  protected $pager;
+
+  /**
+   * The pager factory service.
+   *
+   * @var \Drupal\Core\Pager\PagerFactoryInterface
+   */
+  protected $pagerFactory;
 
   /**
    * The count query that will be used for this pager.
@@ -49,8 +61,9 @@ class PagerSelectExtender extends SelectExtender {
    */
   protected $customCountQuery = FALSE;
 
-  public function __construct(SelectInterface $query, Connection $connection) {
+  public function __construct(SelectInterface $query, Connection $connection, PagerFactoryInterface $pager_factory = NULL) {
     parent::__construct($query, $connection);
+    $this->pagerFactory = $pager_factory ?: \Drupal::service('pager.factory');
 
     // Add pager tag. Do this here to ensure that it is always added before
     // preExecute() is called.
@@ -73,31 +86,41 @@ public function execute() {
     }
 
     // A NULL limit is the "kill switch" for pager queries.
-    if (empty($this->limit)) {
+    if ($this->pager && !$this->pager->getLimit()) {
       return;
     }
+
+    // Ensure that there is a pager associated with this query.
     $this->ensureElement();
 
     $total_items = $this->getCountQuery()->execute()->fetchField();
-    $current_page = pager_default_initialize($total_items, $this->limit, $this->element);
-    $this->range($current_page * $this->limit, $this->limit);
+    $current_page = $this->pager->init($total_items, $this->pager->getLimit())->getCurrentPage();
+    $this->range($current_page * $this->pager->getLimit(), $this->pager->getLimit());
 
     // Now that we've added our pager-based range instructions, run the query normally.
     return $this->query->execute();
   }
 
   /**
-   * Ensure that there is an element associated with this query.
-   * If an element was not specified previously, then the value of the
-   * $maxElement counter is taken, after which the counter is incremented.
+   * Ensure that there is a pager associated with this query.
+   * If the pager was not specified previously, then a pager for the first
+   * available element is created, with a limit set to 10.
    *
-   * After running this method, access $this->element to get the element for this
-   * query.
+   * After running this method, you can access ::getElement() to get the
+   * element for this query.
+   *
+   * @return $this
+   *
+   * @todo in D9, consider removing this method, and pass an element or null to
+   * the constructor. This will allow removing the ::$limit property on this
+   * class and just setLimit() to the PagerInterface object created on
+   * costruction.
    */
   protected function ensureElement() {
-    if (!isset($this->element)) {
-      $this->element = self::$maxElement++;
+    if (!$this->pager) {
+      $this->pager = $this->pagerFactory->getFirstAvailable()->setLimit($this->limit);
     }
+    return $this;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -142,7 +165,13 @@ public function getCountQuery() {
    *   value (FALSE, 0, NULL), the pager is disabled.
    */
   public function limit($limit = 10) {
-    $this->limit = $limit;
+    if ($this->pager) {
+      $this->pager->setLimit($limit);
+    }
+    else {
+      // Preserve the limit for when the pager object is created.
+      $this->limit = $limit;
+    }
     return $this;
   }
 
@@ -155,21 +184,36 @@ public function limit($limit = 10) {
    * whatever reason you want to explicitly define an element for a given query,
    * you may do so here.
    *
-   * Setting the element here also increments the static $maxElement counter,
-   * which is used for determining the $element when there's none specified.
-   *
    * Note that no collision detection is done when setting an element ID
    * explicitly, so it is possible for two pagers to end up using the same ID
    * if both are set explicitly.
    *
    * @param $element
    *   Element ID that is used to differentiate different pager queries.
+   *
+   * @todo in D9, consider removing this method, and pass an element or null to
+   * the constructor. This will allow removing the ::$limit property on this
+   * class and just setLimit() to the PagerInterface object created on
+   * costruction.
    */
   public function element($element) {
-    $this->element = $element;
-    if ($element >= self::$maxElement) {
-      self::$maxElement = $element + 1;
-    }
+    $this->pager = $this->pagerFactory->get($element)->setLimit($this->limit);
     return $this;
   }
+
+  /**
+   * Gets the element ID for this pager query.
+   *
+   * The element is used to differentiate different pager queries on the same
+   * page so that they may be operated independently.
+   *
+   * @return int
+   *   Element ID that is used to differentiate between different pager
+   *   queries.
+   */
+  public function getElement() {
+    $this->ensureElement();
+    return $this->pager->getElement();
+  }
+
 }
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Pager/PagerFactory.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Pager/PagerFactory.php
index aa816ff..0b7d90b 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Pager/PagerFactory.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Pager/PagerFactory.php
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 namespace Drupal\Core\Pager;
 
 use Drupal\Component\Utility\UrlHelper;
+use Drupal\Core\Database\Query\PagerSelectExtender;
 use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\ContainerInterface;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\RequestStack;
 
@@ -65,6 +66,10 @@ public function get($element) {
     if (!isset($this->pagers[$element])) {
       $class = $this->pagerClass;
       $this->pagers[$element] = $class::create($this->container, $element);
+      // @todo BC layer: remove in D9.
+      if (PagerSelectExtender::$maxElement < $element) {
+        PagerSelectExtender::$maxElement = $element;
+      }
     }
     return $this->pagers[$element];
   }
@@ -72,6 +77,26 @@ public function get($element) {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
+  public function getFirstAvailableElementId() {
+    // @todo: BC layer. When removing the globals, return
+    // element from max(array_keys($this->pagers)) directly.
+    global $pager_total;
+    $first_from_globals = !empty($pager_total) ? max(array_keys($pager_total)) + 1 : 0;
+    $first = $first_from_globals < PagerSelectExtender::$maxElement ? PagerSelectExtender::$maxElement : $first_from_globals;
+    PagerSelectExtender::$maxElement = $first;
+    return $first;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  public function getFirstAvailable() {
+    return $this->get($this->getFirstAvailableElementId());
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
   public function all() {
     // @todo: BC layer. When removing the globals, remove the following and
     // return $this->pagers directly.
diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Pager/PagerFactoryInterface.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Pager/PagerFactoryInterface.php
index 80e4955..147e015 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Pager/PagerFactoryInterface.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Pager/PagerFactoryInterface.php
@@ -26,6 +26,22 @@
   public function get($element);
 
   /**
+   * Returns a pager for the first pager element ID free for use.
+   *
+   * @return \Drupal\Core\Pager\Pager
+   *   The pager object.
+   */
+  public function getFirstAvailable();
+
+  /**
+   * Returns the first available pager element ID to use.
+   *
+   * @return int
+   *   A pager element ID.
+   */
+  public function getFirstAvailableElementId();
+
+  /**
    * Returns the current array of pager objects.
    *
    * @return \Drupal\Core\Pager\Pager[]
diff --git a/core/modules/system/src/Tests/Database/SelectPagerDefaultTest.php b/core/modules/system/src/Tests/Database/SelectPagerDefaultTest.php
index 1ec9231..858e43b 100644
--- a/core/modules/system/src/Tests/Database/SelectPagerDefaultTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/system/src/Tests/Database/SelectPagerDefaultTest.php
@@ -137,36 +137,42 @@ function testElementNumbers() {
     ));
     \Drupal::getContainer()->get('request_stack')->push($request);
 
-    $name = db_select('test', 't')
+    $query = db_select('test', 't')
       ->extend('Drupal\Core\Database\Query\PagerSelectExtender')
       ->element(2)
       ->fields('t', array('name'))
       ->orderBy('age')
-      ->limit(1)
-      ->execute()
-      ->fetchField();
+      ->limit(1);
+    $name = $query->execute()->fetchField();
     $this->assertEqual($name, 'Paul', 'Pager query #1 with a specified element ID returned the correct results.');
+    // Check that the pager element ID has been set to 2.
+    $this->assertEqual(2, $query->getElement());
 
-    // Setting an element smaller than the previous one
-    // should not overwrite the pager $maxElement with a smaller value.
-    $name = db_select('test', 't')
+    // Setting an element smaller than the previous one should not overwrite
+    // the maximum pager element ID with a smaller value.
+    $query = db_select('test', 't')
       ->extend('Drupal\Core\Database\Query\PagerSelectExtender')
       ->element(1)
       ->fields('t', array('name'))
       ->orderBy('age')
-      ->limit(1)
-      ->execute()
-      ->fetchField();
+      ->limit(1);
+    $name = $query->execute()->fetchField();
     $this->assertEqual($name, 'George', 'Pager query #2 with a specified element ID returned the correct results.');
+    // Check that the first available element ID is still 3.
+    $this->assertEqual(3, \Drupal::service('pager.factory')->getFirstAvailableElementId());
+    // Check that the pager element ID has been set to 1.
+    $this->assertEqual(1, $query->getElement());
 
-    $name = db_select('test', 't')
+    $query = db_select('test', 't')
       ->extend('Drupal\Core\Database\Query\PagerSelectExtender')
       ->fields('t', array('name'))
       ->orderBy('age')
-      ->limit(1)
-      ->execute()
-      ->fetchField();
+      ->limit(1);
+    $name = $query->execute()->fetchField();
     $this->assertEqual($name, 'John', 'Pager query #3 with a generated element ID returned the correct results.');
+    // Check that the pager element ID has been set to 3.
+    $this->assertEqual(3, $query->getElement());
 
   }
+
 }