Top 10 Countries with Most Dogs

SOCIAL SCIENCE

A look at global populations of mankind’s best friends. While companion dogs are adored like human family members in certain nations, stray dogs are regarded a cultural pariah and a threat to human health, well-being, and physical safety in others. Most global authorities agree that the proper treatment, spaying, neutering, and vaccination of dogs are the best ways to keep dog-related problems in check. As a result, nations may reap the benefits of dog ownership, which range from friendship and camaraderie to the facilitation of a booming pet industry.

Countries with Most Dogs

10. Romania (4.1 million)

In Romania, which has a population of about 4.1 million people, there is a heated dispute about stray dogs. The dog problem is considered to have started in the 1980s, when the country’s population were compelled to abandon their rural homes and dwell in compact urban flats to satisfy the demands of dictatorial leader Nicolae Ceausescu’s industrialization push. Dogs had to be abandoned on the streets in such situations, where they swiftly proliferated, crowding Romania’s streets with homeless canines. For years, these dogs have been subjected to mass slaughter in ways that animal rights organisations have repeatedly decried. In 2008, the country passed new animal protection legislation saying that no healthy animal should be harmed. However, circumstances deteriorated in 2013 when a little boy in Bucharest was suspected of being murdered by stray dogs. The government utilised this incident to fuel the fires of hatred that Romanians had for dogs, and the mass extinction of these species worsened. The massacre of dogs in Romania has garnered enough media attention to draw worldwide condemnation.

9. France (7.4 million)

With almost 7.4 million dogs, France has one of the highest dog-to-person ratios in the world. 40% of French people say they love their dogs like human family members, and dog grooming shops can be found in almost every town. Despite the fact that there is no dog licencing system, every dog born after January 6, 1999, is supposed to have an official identity number tattooed or chipped beneath the skin. Despite their image as dog lovers, the French abandon nearly 100,000 dogs each year, many of which are euthanized at local pound. Every year, around 60,000 dogs, particularly those of highly desired breeds, are stolen. Rabies has nearly been eradicated in France, which has tight vaccination regulations for dogs. However, there were a few small cases of the illness documented in 2001, 2002, and 2004.

8. Argentina (9.2 million)

Argentina, a Latin American country, has a booming canine population. As the country’s economy improves, an increasing number of its inhabitants keep dogs as pets, and the pet care sector is fast developing. Many apartments in Argentina’s major cities allow pets, encouraging residents to get dogs. The most popular breeds in the country are poodles, labradors, and German shepherds, with 16% of owners adopting stray dogs as pets. The government also encourages pet ownership and has promoted canine immunisations and spaying/neutering schemes. Dog faeces on city sidewalks, on the other hand, is a serious issue in the country’s cities, with an estimated 35,000 kilogrammes of waste left on Argentine pavements every day.

7. India (10.2 million)

The situation of Indian stray dogs is uncommon. These creatures have developed into a breed of their own, living (and often thriving) on India’s streets, overcoming all odds and surviving owing to the love and support of India’s tolerant human population. In India, injuring or culling stray dogs is almost always met with widespread condemnation. Spaying/neutering (also known as the Animal Birth Control or ABC programme) and anti-rabies (AR) vaccination of dogs are considered the most humane methods of controlling the stray dog population. The Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules (2001) made it clear that dogs in India should not be killed or relocated in order to restrict population numbers under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Though there have been rare incidents of cruelty to these dogs on a national scale, the country’s population has mainly learned to live with them, and many even feed and care for these canines on the streets. Governments and non-governmental groups in India work together to fund and implement ABC-AR programmes. In numerous states, similar initiatives have lowered the number of dog-related bite cases and, to a lesser extent, the dog population. For example, in India’s Jaipur city, the ABC-AR initiative has resulted in zero human rabies infections and a decline in dog bite incidences from 700 to 200 per 100,000 people.

6. Phillipines (11.6 million)

In terms of rabies-related human deaths, the Philippines ranks fourth in the world. This forced the country’s leadership to resort to widespread canine extermination, often in violent manner condemned by animal rights groups worldwide. Many of these NGOs, including Humane Society International, worked closely with private and government veterinarians, as well as other animal-handling workers, to educate them on canine vaccination and sterilising initiatives. The canine population in the Philippines is currently over 11.6 million, and efforts are being made across the country to handle the stray dog problem in a more humane manner than mass slaughter.

5. Japan (12.0 million)

Because of their hurried lifestyles, Japanese people are usually discouraged from having children, contributing to the island nation’s sluggish population growth. Instead, many Japanese prefer pets, and the country’s pet population outnumbers its child population. Pets in this country (around 12.0 million dogs and a large cat population) are thus regarded as part of the family and are frequently lavishly treated by their devoted human parents. The Japanese love of dogs has also fuelled the rapid development of a $10 billion pet industry in the country.

4. Russia (15.0 million)

Russia has a big domestic dog population as well as a robust stray dog population. These creatures are said to number 15 million in the country. Researchers believe that Russia’s stray dogs are derived from traditional Russian packs, the number of which was rigorously regulated throughout the Soviet era. The hair from these dogs was used to make hats, and many stray canines were submitted to scientific examinations. Belka and Strelka are two well-known Russian stray dogs who lived near the Space Medicine Institute in Moscow before being transported into space. As the Russian economy strengthened in the 1990s as a consequence of growing oil money, wealth and, as a result, food waste increased on Russia’s streets, promoting the establishment of a sizable stray population. The ‘Metro dogs’ of Moscow are the most well-known of Russia’s stray canines. These canines have learned the skill of riding escalators and metro trains, and they are frequently seen travelling alongside human commuters on the metro, with kindhearted passengers and metro officials occasionally encouraging their behaviours.

3. China (27.4 million)

With 27.4 million dogs, China has the world’s third largest dog population. This staggering figure includes both stray dogs and pets. Despite the relaxation of the one-child policy, China’s population is not growing at the same rate as that of its pets. Keeping a pet dog was deemed an imitation of the Western lifestyle in the 1980s and was thus prohibited in Beijing. However, when restrictions were removed in the years that followed, Chinese dog ownership skyrocketed. China also has the third largest pet market in the world. Aside from pets, the stray dog population is frequently bolstered by the humanitarian efforts of those good Samaritans who care for and feed these animals.

2. Brazil (35.7 million)

According to research estimates, the Brazilian pet market generated BRL 15.2 billion in sales in 2013, representing a 7.3% increase over 2012. This shows how popular pets are in Brazil. With 35.7 million dogs, it is the world’s second most populated country in terms of dog population. Around half of all Brazilian households have a dog. Brazil’s expanding middle-class population, along with falling fertility rates and increased life expectancy, has resulted in an increase in the number of Brazilians adopting dogs as new family members.

1. USA (75.8 million)

With an estimated 75.8 million dogs in the country, the United States of America appears to be a haven for man’s best friend. Due to the popularity of dogs in the nation, dog parks have cropped up in practically every major city and town, and dog grooming parlours have sprouted up in a large number of locations. Each state in the United States has its own dog management standards, and owners are held accountable for strictly adhering to these laws. Following fatal dog attacks on children and the elderly, some communities have passed breed-specific legislation restricting the ownership of specific types of dogs, such as Pit bulls. Animal welfare rules are also tightly enforced in the nation, and individuals suspected of cruelty to dogs will face criminal prosecutions and consequent punishments if proven guilty.

Which Country Owns the Most Dogs?

The United States has the most dog owners of any country in the planet. A dog is owned by around 75.8 million Americans.