Pet Ownership Statistics
The incidence of pet ownership in Australia is one of the highest in the world, with an estimated 63% of households owning some kind of pet (53% owning a cat or dog).
There are over 38 million pets of various species throughout Australia. The current estimate of cat and dog populations is 2.43 and 3.75 million respectively. In addition, there are roughly 20 million fish, 9 million birds and 3 million other pets.
The population of dogs in Australia has been in an overall decline since 2002 according to data from Market Research company TNS. The number of dogs per dog owning household has also declined slightly to 1.43 dogs in 2005.
Dog population - trend line estimates, 1998-2005 (million)
The cat population has been in a state of decline for over a decade. The number of cats per cat owning household has also declined to 1.40 cats per household from a high 1.48 in 2003.
While the population of cats and number of cats per household has been in decline, the percentage of households with cats has increased over the past few years (from 23% in 2003 to 25% in 2005).
Cat population - trend line estimates, 1998-2005 (million)
| State |
Dogs |
Cats |
Fish |
Birds |
Other
Pets |
Total Pets |
% of Total |
| New South Wales / ACT |
1,219 |
804 |
7,091 |
2,957 |
1,117 |
13,188 |
34.5 |
| Victoria |
894 |
599 |
4,874 |
2,045 |
744 |
9,156 |
24.0 |
| Queensland |
819 |
443 |
3,530 |
1,714 |
521 |
7,027 |
18.4 |
| Western Australia |
338 |
261 |
2,016 |
1,126 |
298 |
4,039 |
10.6 |
| South Australia / NT |
373 |
227 |
1,984 |
900 |
245 |
3,729 |
9.8 |
| Tasmania |
111 |
92 |
505 |
258 |
75 |
1,041 |
2.7 |
| Total |
3,754 |
2,426 |
20,000 |
9,000 |
3,000 |
38,180 |
100.0 |
Source: TNS and BIS Shrapnel estimates
Contribution of the Pet Care Industry to the Australian Economy
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