Cat and dog owning households in Denmark 2010-2023

In selected years from 2010 to 2023, the share of Danes owning cats and dogs fluctuated. Noticeable is, that from 2010 to 2014, more people were dog owners (around 21 percent) than cat owners (around 18 percent). This changed in the following years to 19 percent having cats and approximately 21 percent having dogs. By comparison, in the neighboring country Sweden, there were always more households with cats than dogs in the same years (except in 2020 when the share was the same). 

 Cat and dog population in Denmark 

In numbers, the cat population decreased slightly from 673 thousand in 2010 to 669 thousand animals in 2022. The dog population grew between 2010 to 2020 from 580 to 670 thousand, before decreasing again in 2021.

 Cat and dog population in Sweden

The number of cats as well as the number of dogs increased in recent years. As of 2022, the cat population was measured at approximately 1.7 million animals and the dog population at 1.04 million animals.