How many pets are there in the UK?
We’re a nation of pet lovers – but have you ever wondered how many pets there actually are in the UK? Well, we have the answer!
Every year we work with YouGov to survey the UK’s pet owners, which not only gives us a look into the wellbeing of our pets, but having a sample that is representative of the UK also means we can accurately estimate the UK’s pet population. So we know how many dogs, cats, and rabbits there are in the UK. You can read all our findings in the PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report.
Our February 2020 findings showed that:
- 51% of UK adults own a pet.
- 26% of UK adults have a cat with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats
- 24% of the UK adult population have a dog with an estimated population of 10.1 million pet dogs
- 2% of the UK adult population have a rabbit with an estimated population of 1 million pet rabbits
You can download the latest version (and all previous versions) of the PAW Report here.
Data from our 10 years of PAW Reports
Cat population (millions) |
Dog population (millions) |
Rabbit population (millions) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Paw Report 2020 |
10.9* |
10.1* |
1* |
| Paw Report 2019 | 10.9 | 9.9 | 0.9 |
| PAW Report 2018 | 11.1 | 8.9 | 1 |
| PAW Report 2017 | 10.3 | 9.3 | 1.1 |
| PAW Report 2016 | 11 | 9.4 | 1.5 |
| PAW Report 2015 | 11.1 | 9.3 | 1.2 |
| PAW Report 2014 | 10.5 | 8.1 | 1.3 |
| PAW Report 2013 | 9.5 | 7.8 | 1 |
| PAW Report 2012 | 11.9 | 8.3 | 1.7 |
| PAW Report 2011 | 11.9 | 8.3 | 1.7 |
*Findings from February 2020, estimated populations were not significantly different in our August 2020 survey.