The map that answers the big question: dogs or cats?
One thing is clear: your pet is the best in the world –regardless of whether he says 'wow', 'miau', 'pio' or 'quiquiriquí'– but the debate between Dogs and cats it is so old that you cannot not position yourself.
Dogs are loyal, playful and affectionate but they also need a lot of attention and care. Cats are independent, clean and elegant but they need their space and can wake up the occasional sneeze.
Budget Direct Pet Insurance has carried out an investigation to discover the preferences of each country in the world and we have a winner...
According to the study results, cats are more popular than dogs in 91 countries!
Dogs or cats? the eternal debate
METHODOLOGY
Do we live in a world of "dog people" or a world of "cat people"? The Budget Direct Pet Insurance team decided to take to Instagram to find out. Thus, they analyzed hashtags and geolocation data to settle the debate once and for all.
First, Instagram posts containing the following hashtags were taken into account: #ilovecats, #catloversclub, #catlovers, #ilovedogs, #dogloversclub and #doglovers.
After extracting the geolocation data of each publication, They awarded the victory to the pet with the highest percentage of publications, in this case, cats.
The analysis was performed at the country, state, and city levels to uncover which ones were dog lovers and which ones preferred cats.
Finally, Budget Direct Pet Insurance produced a series of maps and graphs to rank the places with the highest proportion of cat and dog lovers.
dogs vs. cats
LIKE DOGS AND CATS
One of the key results of the study conducted by Budget Direct Pet reveals that Cats are more popular globally, as we found 91 countries with more posts of cats than dogs on Instagram, and only 76 vice versa.
The domain of cats includes huge territories such as Canada (52.3% of photos of cats or dogs are cats), China (88.2% of cats), and Russia (64% of cats).
However, dogs take more continents. Dog posts outnumber cat posts in North America and South America, Oceania and Africa , while cats are made with Europe and Asia.
The city that most fervently loves dogs is Morpeth (United Kingdom), It has the highest number of dog posts among the 58 cities that are 100% pro-dog. Hoofddorp, in the Netherlands, is the quintessential city for cat lovers.
Cats are more popular globally
EUROPE IS FELINE
A single quick glance at the map is enough to realize that in Europe we prefer cats, although there are exceptions because in Spain we prefer dogs with 52%!
The most dog-friendly country is Andorra (85.8%), followed by Serbia (77.4%), Monaco (77.2%), Slovenia (69.3%), Albania (62%), United Kingdom (61.2%), Slovakia (60.9%), Montenegro (60.1%) and Ireland (59.6%).
The biggest cat lovers are: Iceland (91.4%), Turkey (84.2%), Estonia (79.9%), Romania (74.2%) and Finland (72.7%). Completing the top 10: Italy (72.5%), Poland (72.2%), Austria (70.4%), Sweden (67.9%) and the Netherlands (65.9%).
They are also inveterate cat lovers in: Switzerland (64.6%), Russia (64%), Belgium (63.6%), Denmark (63.3%), Greece (62.9%), Ukraine (62.8%), Norway (62, 3%), Lithuania (61.9%), Hungary (61.5%), Germany (60.9%), Latvia (58.6%), Cyprus (55.5%), Portugal (54.7% ) and Bulgaria (52.2%).
Europe is Feline but Spain prefers dogs!
The European cities where the cat is king are: Hoofdorp, Brielle, Gorinchem and Vries (The Netherlands); Camborne (UK); Nizhnevartovsk (Russia); Ramatuelle and Mouzillon (France); Ürgüp and Ayvalık (Turkey); Balerna (Switzerland); (Bodø (Norway); Latina (Italy) and Varaždin (Croatia).
The dog is the star in the UK scoring 100% in towns including Morpeth, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Milton Keynes, Swindon, Scarborough, Marlow, Epping and Worksop. London, on the other hand, prefers cats.
The cat also triumphs in Koblenz, Straubing, Hanau, Oldenburg and Theuma (Germany); Valdemoro and Pontons (Spain); and Deauville and Saint-Denis-de-Pile (France).
And our neighbors? Lisbon is a cat and Porto is a dog. Paris is a cat with 55%, as well as Rome (74%) and Milan (73%).
Wow!
SPAIN BRINGS SURPRISES...
It has become clear that, compared to most European countries, in Spain we prefer dogs, but let's delve into the subject.
Above 60% of dog publications we have cities such as: Valdemoro (100%), Pontons (100%), Villajoyosa (95%), Parets del Vallès (89%), Granada (70%) and Zaragoza (62%).
At the opposite extreme, above 60% in feline publications we have: Gijón (91%), Seville (85%), Pamplona (78%), Almería (76%), Palma de Mallorca (71%) and Málaga (67%).
And yes, in global terms, Spain may prefer dogs, but Madrid and Barcelona opt for cats with 55% and 56% respectively.
In the table below you can search for your city and find out if its inhabitants post more photos of dogs or cats on Instagram.
UNITED STATES: DOG PEOPLE
It's official: Americans are dog people. Although the northwest of the country belongs to the cat team ((Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and North Dakota), the map leaves no room for doubt, America loves dogs.
38 states prefer dogs and 12 prefer cats. In addition, the dogs also achieved victory by cities, with an overwhelming 106 against 45 cat cities. Gardena (California) is the most pro-dog city, while nearby Elk Grove (also in California) is pro-cat.
In DC we found almost a tie, since cat lovers published 50.5% of the content of dogs and cats, compared to 49.5% of dog lovers. Maybe we should demand a recount...
Based on the results by cities, the Big Apple has the most tagged photos of dogs or cats in the world, and 59.6% opted for cats, compared to 40.4% for dogs.
The results are similar in Los Angeles (58% cats) but nevertheless, Chicago is a city of dogs with a dog-to-cat ratio of 52.1:47.9.
And Long Beach, home of Snoop Dogg? A city of dogs, obviously. Approximately 62.5% of Instagram posts about pets are from dogs.
Americans are 'dog people'
CENTRAL AMERICA IS CLEAR, SOUTH AMERICA HAS DOUBTS
Although dogs win in many Latin American countries, in Colombia and Chile we find a technical tie between dogs and cats.
The countries of the canine team are: Bolivia (81.9%), Suriname (75.1%), Peru (66.8%), Brazil (64.8%), Uruguay (58.1%) and Ecuador (55.1%).
In the feline team we have: French Guiana (100%), Paraguay (66.6%), Venezuela (58.1%) and Argentina (51.6%).
In Central America we have an "all against one", because with the exception of Costa Rica, which prefers cats (52.5%), the rest of the countries are dog lovers: Guatemala (67.1%), Belize (100%), Honduras (70.7%), El Salvador (85.8%), Nicaragua (100%) and Panama (67.7%).
And you, what do you prefer?
ASIA SAYS MEOW
If we go to the Asian continent, the balance is clearly in favor of cats. Felines win in countries like Oman (97.8%), Iraq (94.1%), Mongolia (93%), Malaysia (91.8%), Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan (both with 88.9%), China ( 88.2%), Saudi Arabia (83.1%), and Taiwan (81.1%), all with over 80% cat posts!
The cities that most fervently love kittens are: Chongqing (China), Johor Bahru (Malaysia), Bekasi City (Indonesia) and Daejeon (South Korea).
The Asian countries that prefer canine friends are: Japan (73.5%), Armenia and Bhutan (both with 69.3%), Israel (63.1%), India (61%), Sri Lanka (60.9%) and the Philippines (55.9%) .
Asia is feline
AUSTRALIA SAYS WOW (BUT NOT ALL)
40% of Australian households have dogs while only 27% have cats. Of Australia's six states, five (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia) prefer dogs and only one (Tasmanian) cats.
Since Tasmania is an island and cats hate water... the rest of the continent can rest easy.
The picture becomes a bit more complex if we look at city-by-city preferences. Cats are more photographed than dogs in Canberra, Rose Bay, Erina and the Sunshine Coast. And in Sydney there is a tie.
Tasmania vs. the rest of australia
AFRICA, TECHNICAL TIE
Although in some African countries it has not been possible to extract data, the map overview shows a draw.
In the north (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt) cats reign while the south is more divided.
Dogs are preferred Cape Verde, Namibia, Ethiopia, South Africa, Somalia, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo , among others.
In Angola, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana They prefer cats.
In conclusion, cats are the most popular in the world, But the data shows that the battle between cats and dogs for our affections is far from over. Who knows, maybe you even have room in your heart for both furry friends.
Woof or meow?