An estimated ** million households in the United States owned at least one dog according to a 2024/25 pet owners survey, making them the most widely owned type of pet across the U.S. at this time. Cats and freshwater fish ranked in second and third places, with around ** million and ** million households owning such pets, respectively. Freshwater vs. salt water fish Freshwater fish spend most or all their lives in fresh water. Fresh water’s main difference to salt water is the level of salinity. Freshwater fish have a range of physiological adaptations to enable them to live in such conditions. As the statistic makes clear, Americans keep a large number of freshwater aquatic species at home as pets. American pet owners In 2023, around ** percent of all households in the United States owned a pet. This is a decrease from 2020, but still around a ** percent increase from 1988. It is no surprise that as more and more households own pets, pet industry expenditure has also witnessed steady growth. Expenditure reached over *** billion U.S. dollars in 2022, almost a sixfold increase from 1998. The majority of pet product sales are still made in brick-and-mortar stores, despite the rise and evolution of e-commerce in the United States.

According to a 2024 survey, dogs were the most commonly owned pet in UK households. The share of households reporting dog ownership stood at 36 percent. The second most common house pet among UK households were cats, with around 26 percent of respondents stating their ownership. Pet ownership in the UK In the past year, pet ownership levels in the UK decreased by five percent when compared to 2022. This decrease could be explained by the change in owner's routines since pandemic restrictions have lifted. The share of UK households owning a dog or cat also decreased in comparison to previous years. Happiness, companionship, and man’s best friend A 2020 survey asked dog owners to state their reasons for owning a dog and all linked their ownership to either improving their happiness and/or providing companionship. Happiness was the most common response, with 51 percent stating ‘because they make me happy’. Whereas 47 percent stated their dogs provided ‘love/affection’ and 35 percent stated their dogs provided ‘companionship’. It seems the old saying “man’s best friend” still holds true to this day.

In 2024, cats and dogs remained the most popular pets among urban China residents. In that year, around ** percent of Chinese pet owners who lived in urban households owned cats or dogs. Notably, exotic pets are increasingly popular in recent years.

**** were the most popular pets in Japan as revealed in a survey panel by Rakuten Insight conducted between April and May 2025. The survey on pet ownership showed that dogs and cats were the most common animal companions kept in Japan, which is reflected in the dominance of dogs and cat goods within the domestic pet supplies market. Cats and dogs in Japan Even though dogs were popular for their approachability and loyalty among Japanese people, cats are closing in on the popularity of canines. As Japan is struggling to contain the number of strays in municipalities, in particular felines, picking up a lost or stray cat is a frequent reason to become a new owner. In contrast, dogs and other mammals like rodents are mostly mediated through retail channels like pet stores or breeders, requiring higher costs in the adoption process. Pet businesses The Japanese pet market offers owners a variety of establishments and pet stores to indulge their animal companions with services and goods, including wellness programs, accessories, and luxury snacks. While general food and **************** make up the top items of annual expenses spent on pet dogs, beauty expenses covering shampoo, cutting, and trimming are coming in third. Boosted by the "kawaii" (cuteness) culture in Japan, dog barbers and fashion goods for pets are not an uncommon sight in the country.

As of January 2023, **** were the most popular pets owned by respondents in Thailand. On the other hand, pet lovers in Thailand are increasingly interested in **********************************************

********* percent of households in the United States owned one or more pets in 2023/2024. Household penetration rates for pet-ownership have increased by ** percent since the beginning of the survey period in 1988. What kinds of pets do Americans prefer? There were estimated to be around ** million dog-owning households in the United States according to a recent survey, making dogs the most popular kind of pets in American homes. Cats and freshwater fish ranked in second and third places, respectively. Horses and saltwater fish were the least popular types of animals to keep, with around *** million households owning each type of pet. How much do Americans spend on their pets? Total pet industry expenditure reached around ***** billion U.S. dollars in 2022, an increase from the previous year. As well as regular expenses such as food and vet costs, households were estimated to spend around *** billion U.S. dollars on Valentine's Day gifts for their pets in 2023.

The statistic shows the share of pet types owned in households in the United States in 2020. According to a survey, some ** percent of respondents owned a dog at the time of the survey, and around ** percent owned a cat.

According to a survey conducted by Rakuten Insight on pets owned in January 2022 in India, dogs were the most popular pets, with a share of 68 percent. Cats were the second most popular pets, with a share of 34 percent.

With over 470 million dogs kept as pets worldwide, dogs came out on top as the leading type of pet in 2018. Within the same year, there were roughly 370 million pet cats in the world.

Pets in the European Union

While dogs were globally speaking the most common type of pet, cats were more common in the European Union in 2018. Roughly 75 million people within this region had a pet cat in 2018, compared to the 65 million pet dogs. That year, Germany had about nine and a half million pet dogs, making it the country with the highest number within the European Union. Other top dog-loving countries included the United Kingdom, Poland, and France.

Other pets in Germany

Besides cats and dogs, Germans had many other household pets in 2018. About five and a half million small pets, such as hamsters and rabbits, were kept by Germans that year. Additionally, about two million households in Germany owned an aquarium and roughly one and a half million households owned a garden pond.

According to a 2017 survey, Millennial males in the United States were more likely to be cat and/or dog owners than their female counterparts. Some 48 percent of male Millennial survey respondents stated that they owned a cat and 71 percent owned a dog. In comparison, 35 and 62 percent of female respondents were cat and/or dog owners, respectively.

Pet ownership rates in the United States

In 2019, 67 percent of all households in the United States owned a pet . This is over a ten percent increase from 1988. Almost 50 percent of surveyed American pet-owning households had a dog in 2017 , making it the most popular type of pet to own in the United States. Cats and freshwater fish were the second and third most popular type of pet, with a 38 and 10 percent share of the vote respectively.

Number of pets owned

Freshwater fish were the most kept pet in the United States in 2017/18 in terms of volume. In total, Americans were estimated to own approximately 139.3 million of the aquatic animals in that year. This large volume is no surprise when considering their small size and minor cost increases when owning more than one fish as a pet. Cats and dogs were the second and third most owned pets, with around 94.2 and 89.7 million living in U.S. households respectively.

Among the wide variety of animals kept as pets, cats and dogs are the most common. In Spain, dogs seem to be the most popular pet, with ** percent of Spanish households owing at least one canine in 2023. The share of households that owned a cat experienced an ongoing decrease over the recent years, falling to ** percent in 2019 down from a ** percent in 2010. This figure picked up again in 2022 to reach ** percent. Dogs: Spain’s favorite domestic animal The popularity of dogs in Spain cannot be denied – the number of hounds has only increased in the last years, reaching figures of approximately *** million in 2023. The number of stray and street dogs recused on the Spanish streets saw a drop over time, falling from ******* dogs in 2013 down to *******. This figure, however, increased dramatically in 2019. The situation of pet cats in Spain Spanish homes had around 5.8 million pet cats in 2023, which is about half the number of that of dogs the same year. The number of rescued stray or street felines was also significantly lower compared to dogs, until figures rocketed in 2019. The fate of rescued street and stray pets normally has a happy ending, with nearly half of them adopted by a new family and ** percent returned to their original homes that year.

Dog was by far the most popular pet in Mexico in 2019, according to a survey. That year, nearly eight out of ten pet owners surveyed said that they own one. Cats were the second most common pets in the Latin American country, with approximately 30 percent of respondents who had a pet. That same year, around one third of Mexican pet owners said that they feed their animals with both pet and human food.

This statistic shows the average share of pet ownership worldwide as of 2023, by pet type. Across all surveyed countries, ************* are the most popular pet type around the world.

As of 2023, an estimated 166 million European households owned at least one pet. During the last decade, the number of pet-owning households has increased by approximately 20 million. Pets in the European Union The most popular pets in the Europeans Union (EU) are cats. There are approximately 11,000 more cats than dogs in the EU. Besides cats and dogs, other popular pets are ornamental birds, such as canaries, parakeets, parrots, and small mammals, like mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, or rabbits. The number of cats in Europe has steadily increased during the last decade. In 2010, there were about 85,000 cats in Europe. By 2021, this figure had reached over 127,000. A similar trend has been observed in the number of dogs in Europe. Cats in the European Union While cats are popular companions for households in many EU countries, Germany and France have the highest numbers of cats among EU countries by a considerable margin. However, these countries are also the most populous in the EU. Taking a look at the share of households who own at least one cat in the EU shows that the share of cat lovers in Romania is the highest. Almost half of Romanian households own a cat. The share of cat-owning households seems to be comparatively high in many eastern European countries.

In 2023, Brazil counted over *** million pets, of which more than ** million were dogs. The second most popular pet among Brazilians were birds, with **** million animals of this kind living in Brazilian households.

Unsurprisingly, dogs and cats are the most popular pet animals among Italians. According to a survey from 2019, 60 percent of Italians pet owners had a dog and 58 percent owned a cat. Other popular pet animals appeared to be fish, turtles, and birds. In terms of absolute value, fishes were the most numerous pets in Italy, followed by birds.

Dog lovers

In a 2018 survey, most Italians declared to prefer dogs as domestic animal. The dog population in Italy was measured at approximately 11.6 million in 2018, which means roughly a dog every 5,2 inhabitant. The regions with the largest number of dogs were the Northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto. Lombardy counted 1.6 million pet dogs, while Veneto had 1.3 million dogs.

Dog and cat food market

As the number of pets owned by Italians increased in the last years, the sales value of dog and cat food also rose. In 2019, the selling of food for dogs and cats had a value of over two billiob euros, showing a steadily increase since 2012. The most valuable pets’ foods was were those for cats. Indeed For example, the sales of wet food products for cats was worth double than that of wet food for dogs.

Idaho had the highest dog ownership rate in the United States (U.S.), with ** percent of households owning a dog in 2025. In Tennessee, around ** percent of households were dog owners in that year. Dog food industry in the U.S. The sales value of dog food in the U.S. amounts to a total of approximately **** billion U.S. dollars annually, excluding treats. Among the various dog food categories, dry dog food makes up the largest share of sales, with just under ***** billion U.S. dollars. The leading dog biscuit, treat, and beverage vendor in the U.S. in terms of sales is Big Heart Pet Brands, which generates sales of over * billion U.S. dollars annually. The sales of Big Heart Pet Brands are more than twice as much as those of its biggest competitor, Nestlé Purina PetCare. The leading frozen and refrigerated dog food vendors in the U.S. is Freshpet. The company dominates the market by a considerable margin. Dog ownership in the U.S. Nationwide, approximately ** million U.S. households own at least one dog. Dogs are the most widely owned type of pet among American households. Within the last 12 years, the number of dog-owning households grew by more than ** percent. In general, there has been an increase in the household penetration rate of pet ownership in the U.S. during the last 35 years. In 2023, about ********** of households owned at least one pet. Since the state of Idaho has the highest percentage share of dog owners among U.S. states, it is unsurprising that its state capital, the city of Boise, has the largest number of dog parks per 100,000 residents in the country. There are *** off-leash dog parks per 100,000 residents in Boise, Idaho.

In 2023, roughly 25 percent of German households owned a cat, compared with 21 percent of households owning a dog. Germans owned a wide variety of pets, but cats and dogs were by far the most popular.

In 2019, ** percent of pets owned in Mexico were dogs, while ** percent were cats. In that same year, the sales volume of dog food produced in the country reached nearly ******* metric tons.

During a survey conducted in 2024, it was revealed that millennials represented the biggest share of pet owners in the United States (** percent), followed in second place by Generation X (** percent). Baby Boomer's came in third, representing some ** percent of pet owners. Pet ownership in the United States Despite some fluctuations, household penetration rates for pet ownership in the United States have generally increased over the years, going from ** percent in 1988 to approximately ** percent in 2023. With millennials constituting the largest group of pet owners in the United States, they also constituted the generational group that planned to spend the most on their pets during the holidays in 2020, with an average spending of ** U.S. dollars, compared to only ** U.S. dollars of average planned spending on pets for Baby Boomers. Pet expenditure in the U.S. Pet food and treats constituted the highest selling category for pet products in the United States, with total food and treats sales reaching **** billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Vet care and product sales were the second biggest pet market category that year, generating around **** billion U.S. dollars in sales. Generally, average annual pet expenditure was higher for dog owners than for cat owners across all pet market categories in 2020.