Which are the 5 countries with the most cats and dogs in Europe?
New figures from the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF) show that 90 million European households owned a pet last year, a 2.2% rise.
The data released by the Brussels-based association reveals that cats (26%) and dogs (25%) are the most popular pets in Europe, followed by birds, rabbits and fish.
Germany is the European nation with the most cats and dogs (27 million), followed by France (22.6 million), Italy (18.7 million), Spain (15.1 million) and Poland (10.5 million).
At the bottom end of the scale we find Estonia (525,000), Latvia (680,000) and Slovenia (750,000).
Across the European region, Russia is by far the country with the most, with a total of 40.5 million cats and dogs, followed by the United Kingdom with 24 million.
In 2021 there were around 110 million cats, 90 million dogs, 50 million birds, 30 million small mammals, 15 million aquaria and 10 million terraria in Europe.
Industry growth
FEDIAF also points to a significant increase in the industry, with an annual sales revenue in 2021 of €50 billion (€47.5MB) for pet food and related services.
The annual sales value of pet food products reached €27.7 billion ($28.8B), an increase of 21% against 2020. Related services and products also increased, at 9.7%.
The number of pet food companies (150) and plants (200) remained unchanged according to the figures. The industry created 10,000 direct jobs in a year, with a total of 110,000 employees in 2021. Indirect jobs accounted for a further 50,000.
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