Adoption statistics

Adoption though is the legal act of placing an infant, child or an adult under the hands to those who are ready to take up the responsibilities and rights being adoptive parents or adoptive children. The numbers and figures of adoption make up the adoption statistics. Keeping a record of the number of people waiting to be adopted, number of people adopted helps to maintain a check on the whole census of a population of the country. 

The number of adoptions have dropped down in western nations due to low fertility rates. Single parents are increasing in the western countries and all over the world, people seem to accept the concept of single parenthood and hence, the rate of adoption had gone down. The varying numbers in adoption can also be attributed to various adoption costs and assistance that varies amongst countries.

Iceland seems to have a lower adoption rate of 20-35 per year due to the lower population, while international adoptions are largest in Norway. 269 adoptions were made to China while, 93 to South Korea and 86 to Colombia. A survey in United States of America has resulted that six in ten Americans have personal experience with adoption. Most of the Americans have a family member or close friend adopted or had a child for adoption or they themselves are adopted.

Approximately 120,000 adoptions of children have occurred each year since 1990s. Children who are adopted by the spouse of a single parent or by their step parent are at a rise since the 1990s. These kinship adoptions by public agencies have been handled by placing the children in foster care.

Trans-racial adoptions are also increasing wherein children are placed with an adoptive family of another race. The estimates in the inter-country adoptions reveal 8% of them are trans-racial adoptions according to the adoption statistics. Be it public or private adoptions that are being made all over the world, the record of all these is now recorded and is available as national adoption statistics for each of the countries and the world as a whole.

These adoption statistics are only for the children or infants being adopted each year, however there are no solid adoption statistics or estimates for the number of adults who are adopted each year.

No matter what the figures speak about the adoption in the adoption statistics, it all sums up to the people who are interested in adoption wholeheartedly.