At Dalia, we are interested in delving into the big questions and understanding the global trends that will shape our future. This brings us to one of the most important topics of 2017: cats.

Our latest survey shows that a majority (59%) of Russians own a cat. This is more than 10 percentage points higher than any other country in our survey of 52 countries. Surprised? Don’t be. In Russia, cats have been placed on a high pedestal since Empress Elizabeth’s reign in the 1700s, where felines prized for their mouse-catching abilities were brought to the palace to live pampered lives. Today, in part of the palace now called St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, there live roughly 70 cats, much to the delight of the museum administration, staff and visitors. Last weekend Russia hosted their International Cat Exhibition in St. Petersburg. And on March 1st, Russians celebrated National Cat Day.“]Subscribe to Dalia’s Newsletter Although the largest percent of cat owners are in Russia, Malaysia boasts the highest share of people who own 3 or more cats (17%). In fact, in Malaysia, people are more likely to own 3 or more cats than they are to own just 1 or 2 cats. They also have a city, Kuching, which is dedicated to cats and called “Cat City” by locals. You can see the full results from the survey below: