Brown rat: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the brown rat lives – recorded in 22 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Rattus norvegicus
Group	Mice, rats & other rodents
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	22 countries
Continents	Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania
Class	Mammal
Order	Rodentia
Family	Muridae

Where does the brown rat live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the brown rat in 22 countries and territories across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. Wikidata gives its range as: worldwide, Ourilândia do Norte. In Austria, Australia, Switzerland, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine, United States it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Belgium
France (introduced)
United Kingdom (introduced)
Germany
Switzerland (introduced)
Netherlands (introduced)
Sweden
Norway (introduced)
Australia (introduced)
Portugal (introduced)
Ireland (introduced)
Denmark (introduced)
Chinese Taipei
United States (introduced)
Finland (introduced)
Spain (introduced)
Estonia (introduced)
Russia (introduced)
Austria (introduced)
Canada
New Zealand (introduced)
Ukraine (introduced)

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the brown rat endangered?

The brown rat’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the brown rat?

The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) is a mammal in the order Rodentia and the family Muridae, genus Rattus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the brown rat

The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread, common species of rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown or grey rodent with a body length of up to 28 cm (11 in) long, and a tail slightly shorter than that. It weighs between 140 and 500 g (4.9 and 17.6 oz). Thought to have originated in northern China and neighbouring areas, it has now spread to all continents except Antarctica, and is the dominant rat in Europe and much of North America, having become naturalised across the world. With rare exceptions, the brown rat lives wherever humans live, particularly in urban areas. It is omnivorous, reproduces rapidly, and can be a vector for several human diseases.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Brown rat (revision 1377247974), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q184224 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).