Pet Statistics

Cat and Dog Population in Europe

Updated: October 13, 2022.

As of, there are around 145 million pet animals in the European Union (including Norway and Switzerland). This is a 5 million increase compared to 2021 (when there were around 140 million pets among us). Among those pets are about 66 million dogs and 79 million cats. Cooper Pet Care has compiled data from various reliable sources to inform about the cat and dog population in countries that are part of the EU.

All data is up-to-date.

Cat and dog population in Europe. It also shows whether cats or dogs are more popular in each country.

Cat and Dog Population by Country

CountryPetsDogsCats
Austria2.822.000837.0001.985.000
Belgium3.425.0001.340.0002.085.000
Bulgaria1.565.000750.000815.000
Croatia787.500350.000437.500
Cyprus109.45848.64860.810
Czech Republic3.355.0002.205.0001.150.000
Denmark1.290.000610.000680.000
Estonia525.000235.000290.000
Finland1.735.000760.000975.000
France22.600.0007.500.00015.100.000
Germany27.000.00010.300.00016.700.000
Greece1.265.000660.000605.000
Hungary5.180.0002.800.0002.380.000
Ireland783.000457.000326.000
Italy18.750.0008.700.00010.050.000
Latvia680.000270.000410.000
Lithuania1.155.000550.000605.000
Luxembourg124.87555.50069.375
Malta328.169199.733128.436
Netherlands5.000.0001.850.0003.150.000
Norway1.273.000490.000783.000
Poland10.548.9806.466.7324.082.248
Portugal3.615.0002.105.0001.510.000
Romania8.575.0004.195.0004.380.000
Slovakia1.470.000920.000550.000
Slovenia750.000295.000455.000
Spain15.172.0009.313.0005.859.000
Sweden2.370.000890.0001.480.000
Switzerland2.397.000544.0001.853.000
Totals:144.923.98265.969.61378.954.369

(Data via: FEDIAF.org, NVG, MaltaToday, FCI.be: here, here, and here)

Key Conclusions

Below are some of the most notable conclusions based on the data collected:

  • Germany is the leading country with the largest population in both cats and dogs.
  • Cats are the leading pet animal in the EU.
  • All countries appear to have a higher population of cats than dogs.
  • Spain shows a much higher preference for dogs with their population surpassing the cat population by almost 6(!) million.

Veterinarians in the European Union

In a 2020 report by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), it is estimated that there are 184,374 active veterinarians in the EU (including Norway and Switzerland). Find below in detail the population of vets in Europe in comparison to each country’s population.

The number of veterinarians per country in Europe.
CountryPopulationPetsVeterinarians
Austria8.859.0002.822.000 3.153
Belgium11.460.0003.425.000 6.200
Bulgaria7.000.0001.565.000 3.472
Croatia4.076.000787.5001.131
Cyprus875.899109.458370
Czech Republic10.650.0003.355.0004.571
Denmark5.806.0001.290.0002.819
Estonia1.325.000525.000 854
Finland5.518.0001.735.0002.025
France67.060.00022.600.00019.874
Germany83.020.00027.000.00031.556
Greece10.720.0001.265.000 2.545
Hungary9.773.0005.180.000 3.052
Ireland4.904.000783.0002.752
Italy60.360.0001.8750.00029.358
Latvia1.920.000680.000687
Lithuania2.794.0001.155.000 1.995
Luxembourg613.894124.875288
Malta502.653328.16970
Netherlands17.280.0005.000.0004.742
Norway5.328.0001.273.0003.000
Poland37.970.00010.548.98011.612
Portugal10.280.0003.615.0006.506
Romania19.410.0008.575.0006.383
Slovakia5.450.0001.470.0002.368
Slovenia2.081.000750.000952
Spain46.940.00015.172.00026.349
Sweden10.230.0002.370.000 3.590
Switzerland8.450.0002.397.000 2.100
Totals:460.656.446144.923.982184.374

(Data via: FVE.org)

Key Conclusions

  • Malta has the least amount of vets in the EU with an estimate of 4688 pets per vet.
  • Ireland and Cyprus are the leading countries in most vets based on their population. In Ireland, each vet corresponds to 283 pets, while in Cyprus there are 296 pets per vet.
  • Spain has got a huge population of vets which surpasses that of France, despite the pet population in France being twice as that of Spain.