10 Countries Where Fishing Is Most Popular (Ranked)

Fishing is most popular in the United States, Japan, Brazil and Australia. All 10 countries ranked by angler numbers, licences and culture.

Recreational fishing is one of the most widespread outdoor activities on earth, from Texan bass lakes to Japanese rock coasts and Norwegian salmon rivers. The United States counted 57 million anglers aged 6 and over in 2025, the largest national figure we could source.

Below you will find the full ranking, a table of the best available angler counts, a profile of each country and a few more nations worth knowing. Counting anglers is hard, because licence systems and surveys differ, so every number is attributed and dated.

Countries where fishing is most popular:

1. United States
2. Japan
3. Brazil
4. Australia
5. Canada
6. United Kingdom
7. Norway
8. Germany
9. South Africa
10. Russia

Fishing Popularity by Country at a Glance

How We Ranked the Countries

We weighed the size of national angling populations from surveys and licence sales, the strength of fishing clubs and federations, the economic weight of recreational fishing and its place in the national culture. Counts are not like for like: some countries count everyone who fished, others only licence holders, and some give no recent figure.

Where a country has several figures we show the most recent official or survey-based one and say what it measures. Where we found no reliable count we write n/a rather than guess.

#1 United States

• 🎣 Anglers: 57 million aged 6 and over in 2025, 18% of the population
• 🌊 Saltwater: 15.5 million saltwater anglers
• 📉 Trend: down from 57.9 million in 2024

The United States has the biggest angling population we could source: 57 million people aged 6 and over went fishing in 2025, according to the Outdoor Industry Association, the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and the American Sportfishing Association. That was about 18% of the population and a slight drop from 57.9 million in 2024.

Saltwater fishing accounted for 15.5 million of those anglers. Largemouth bass fishing, tournament circuits and a large tackle industry give the sport a strong commercial and media presence.

#2 Japan

• 🎣 Anglers: 6.2 million in 2018 (Leisure White Paper)
• 📉 Trend: 12.9 million in 2006, 7.1 million in 2013
• 📜 Early 1990s: about 20 million, per Japanese reports

Japan has a deep fishing culture, but participation has fallen sharply. The Leisure White Paper counted 12.9 million anglers in 2006, 7.1 million in 2013 and 6.2 million in 2018. For 2021 the white paper gives 5.6 million, while a government survey gave 6.4 million.

Even at the lower figure Japan remains one of the biggest angling populations in Asia, with a strong tackle industry and long traditions in ayu river fishing, rock fishing and boat fishing.

#3 Brazil

• 🎣 Anglers: rough estimate of about 10 million
• 🪪 Licences: about 220,000 in 2010
• 🐟 Draws: Pantanal, Amazon tributaries, tucunaré (peacock bass)

Brazil has no precise count, and the figure of about 10 million anglers is a rough estimate rather than a survey result. Licences numbered only about 220,000 in 2010, which shows how few anglers appear in official records.

The country is a magnet for sport fishers from abroad. The Pantanal wetlands and Amazon basin offer species such as peacock bass, dorado and giant catfish.

#4 Australia

• 🎣 Anglers: 4.2 million, about 1 in 5 adults (ABARES)
• 💼 Jobs: over 100,000 jobs supported
• 💰 Economy: over $11 billion a year

A national survey by ABARES found about 4.2 million Australians fish, around one adult in five. An older survey had put the figure at 3.36 million, or 19.5% of the population.

Recreational fishing supports more than 100,000 jobs and contributes over $11 billion a year to the economy, according to the same research.

#5 Canada

• 🎣 Anglers: 3.2 million adults in 2015 (DFO survey)
• 🏠 Residents: about 2.6 million resident anglers
• 🪪 Scope: licence holders only

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s 2015 recreational fishing survey counted 3.2 million adult anglers, of whom about 2.6 million were Canadian residents. The survey covers people who held a licence, so unlicensed fishing, for example by children or on some Indigenous waters, is not included.

Canada’s lakes and rivers are a major draw for visiting anglers, particularly from the United States.

#6 United Kingdom

• 🎣 Anglers: 3 million (Angling Trust)
• 🏛️ Clubs: Angling Trust clubs represent 300,000+ anglers
• 💷 Freshwater: £1.7 billion in freshwater fisheries

The Angling Trust says there are about 3 million anglers in the UK, and its member clubs represent more than 300,000 of them. In England alone, almost 1 million anglers account for about 17 million days on the water, according to the Rivers Trust.

Freshwater fisheries are worth around £1.7 billion. Britain also has one of the oldest fishing literatures in the world: the Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle was printed in 1496, and Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler followed in 1653.

#7 Norway

• 🎣 Self-reported: the angling federation says half the population fishes once a year
• 🌊 Sea fishing: 33% marine participation in 2014
• 🐟 Salmon: 65,000 to 80,000 salmon anglers

Norway’s angling and hunting association NJFF says around half of Norwegians fish at least once a year, which is its own claim rather than an official statistic. A 2014 study found 33% of the population took part in marine fishing.

Between 65,000 and 80,000 people fish for salmon in the country’s rivers, which are known worldwide, and sea angling for cod and halibut draws large numbers of tourists.

#8 Germany

• 🪪 Valid licences: 1.8 million in 2024
• 🏛️ Clubs: about 950,000 organised anglers in about 8,000 clubs
• 🎣 Survey: 6.64 million fished at least once in 2021, 9.4% of the population

Germany requires a fishing licence in most states, which makes its numbers unusually solid: about 1.8 million valid licences in 2024, and roughly 950,000 anglers organised in about 8,000 clubs. About 61,000 people passed the licence exam.

A Thünen Institute study counted about 1.67 million regular anglers, and a wider survey found 6.64 million people, or 9.4% of the population, fished at least once in 2021.

#9 South Africa

• 🎣 Anglers: often put at over a million, with no survey behind it
• 🌊 Draws: rock and surf, ski-boat, and trout fishing
• 🐟 Species: trout and tigerfish inland

South Africa is often described as having more than a million anglers, but we found no reliable survey behind that number. The coast offers rock and surf fishing, ski-boat angling and big-game fishing, while inland waters carry trout and tigerfish.

Fishing is widespread across the country and is a significant draw for visitors.

#10 Russia

• 🎣 Anglers: no reliable count found
• 🐟 Destinations: Ponoi river on the Kola Peninsula, Kamchatka
• ❄️ Ice fishing: a common winter pastime

We found no reliable national count of Russian anglers. The country’s rivers and lakes are an everyday outlet for ice fishing and summer angling.

Internationally Russia is known for fly fishing for Atlantic salmon on the Kola Peninsula, for example on the Ponoi, and for wilderness trips to Kamchatka.

Which Countries Have the Most Anglers?

Angling is not an Olympic sport, so there is no medal table. This table lists the best available angler counts, which measure different things: read each row with its note.

Other Countries Where Fishing Is Growing

These countries have strong angling traditions, though we lack a solid national count.

More About Fishing

• History of Fishing
• Fishing lingo and slang
• Fishing equipment list

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