In Spain, the number of companion animals has increased by 14% in the last five years, exceeding 15 million companion animals, half dogs and nearly 40% cats, according to official data from 2025, which places Andalusia as the autonomous community with the highest concentration, with more than three million registered.
The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 published this Friday an advance of the first national animal protection statistics, which specifically puts the number of companion animals in Spanish homes at 15,171,569, a figure obtained from the records of autonomous community databases between 2021 and 2025.
Dogs and cats, the most popular animals
Dogs are the most popular companion animal in Spain, with 7,562,893 registered last year, 49.8% of the total, followed by cats, with 37%, totaling 5,619,967 specimens.
The remaining 13% is distributed among other animals residing in Spanish homes, a varied group that includes rabbits, birds, turtles, and other reptiles. Only in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla does the number of cats exceed that of dogs as registered companion animals, according to these data.
And the largest difference between these two species by autonomous community is found in Andalusia, with 733,543 more dogs than cats, followed by Madrid, with a difference of 224,735; Catalonia, with 176,679, and Galicia, 144,103.
Since 2021, the starting year for this state statistic, the number of companion animals has increased from 13,291,039 to 15,171,569 in 2025.
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Dogs, in these five years, have always been the preferred animal for Spanish households, although they have not been the ones that have experienced the most growth, as they have added 665,551 specimens compared to the 1,035,816 cats that have entered homes. The remaining compendium (rabbits, birds, turtles, other reptiles…) has also grown, but has only added 179,163.
Andalusia, Catalonia and Madrid, those with the most
The autonomous community with the most companion animals is Andalusia, with a total of 3,264,926 registered, followed by Catalonia with 1,988,389 and Madrid with 1,895,979. The Valencian Community is the only one of the rest that also exceeds one million registered specimens, with 1,533,551. Those with the fewest are Ceuta, with 18,627; Melilla, with 23,618, and La Rioja, with 96,070.
The development of this statistic, as reported by the Government, will continue its course in the coming months by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 in collaboration with the other institutions and sectors involved.
The data released this Friday was presented at the State Council for Animal Protection, which also addressed the development of a protocol to care for companion animals in case of emergencies or disasters through a collaboration with the Ministry of Interior that will be made available to the autonomous communities.
In this way, the communities will be able to adapt their civil protection plans to the provisions established by the Animal Welfare Law, as specified by the ministry.