The European Pet Food Federation (FEDIAF) estimated the number of cats in Europe in 2018, along with other data on EU member and other European pet food markets, in the latest edition of the report “FEDIAF Facts & Figures.” Compared to 2017, cat ownership increased slightly compared to dogs. Russia, Germany and France held the largest numbers of cats owners overall.
Some of the countries with the highest cat populations ranked lower in per capita cat population. The top countries for cat ownership purr capita in 2018 were Romania, Hungary and France.
Top 10 cat-owning nations in Europe in 2018 by overall population
- Russia - 22,500,000 cats
- Germany - 14,500,000 cats
- France - 13,500,000 cats
- United Kingdom - 7,500,000 cats
- Italy - 7,300,000 cats
- Poland - 6,400,000 cats
- Romania - 4,300,000 cats
- Turkey - 3,600,000 cats
- Spain - 3,145,000 cats
- Netherlands - 2,640,000 cats
Top 10 cats per capita in Europe in 2018
- Romania - 0.221 cats per person
- Hungary - 0.207 cats per person
- France - 0.206 cats per person
- Germany - 0.176 cats per person
- Belgium - 0.173 cats per person
- Poland - 0.168 cats per person
- Russia - 0.156 cats per person
- Netherlands - 0.154 cats per person
- Portugal - 0.146 cats per person
- Czech Republic - 0.132 cats per person
The per capita population of cats in each nation was estimated by dividing the cat population from the FEDIAF report by the approximate human population of each country in 2018. Human population data was taken from Worldometer.info, which elaborated the numbers using United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division figures.
About European Pet Food Federation
The European Pet Food Federation represents the European pet food industry with around 200 production sites. It is an umbrella organization of national pet food industry associations. FEDIAF’s mission is to be the credible and responsible voice of the European pet food industry collaborating with authorities, regulators and academics for achieving favorable conditions for the supply of safe, nutritious and palatable products to pets and their owners. FEDIAF is based in Brussels, Belgium and states that it is committed to promoting responsible pet ownership, to the well-being of pet animals, to their important social role and to sustainable development.
The annual Facts & Figures from FEDIAF are compiled using figures from FEDIAF and its member associations and estimations based upon where indicated.
