Dr Peter Selman

1
Global Trends in Intercountry Adoption 2003-2011

• Dr Peter Selman
• Newcastle University, UK
• pfselman_at_yahoo.co.uk

2
The Rise and Fall of ICA

• The period from 1998-2011 has seen a remarkable
  rise and fall in the number of children moving
  for intercountry adoption each year.
• In 1998 there were c 31,700 adoptions by 2004
  this had risen to over 45,000 By 2011 the
  global total had fallen to 23,596, the lowest
  figure since 1996.
• The number of children sent has fallen in most
  states of origin the exception has been for
  Africa where numbers have risen in many countries.

3
Aim of presentation

• My aim in presenting these statistics and
  looking at global trends is to put the data from
  India into a wider perspective.
• In particular I shall be looking at the
  global decline 2004.
• I shall also look at the changing
  characteristics of children sent and especially
  at the growing number with special needs.

4
(No Transcript)
5
Intercountry Adoption 2001-2011
2001 2004 2008 2011
USA Spain France Italy Canada Top 5 to top5 23 States ( to USA) 19,237 3,428 3,094 1,797 1,926 29,430 80.9 36,391 (53) 22,884 5,541 4,079 3,400 1,955 37,861 83.6 45,299 (51) 17,438 3,156 3,271 3,977 1.916 29,758 85.6 34,785 (50) 9,320 2,560 1,995 4,022 1,785 19,695 83.4 23,609 (40)
6
(No Transcript)
7
Trends in Intercountry Adoption

• Between 1998 and 2004 numbers rose
• by 42 worldwide by 45 in USA
• by 171 in Ireland by 273 in Spain
• Between 2004 and 2011 numbers
• fell by 50 worldwide by 60 in USA
• by 54 in Spain by 50 in France
• Italy saw 18 growth but a decline in 2012
  the United States, France and Sweden also saw a
  decline in 2012.

8
Receiving States 2010-2012
2010 2011 2012 Change 2011 to 2012
USA 12,149 9,320 8,668 - 7
ITALY 4,130 4,022 3,106 - 23
FRANCE 3,504 1,995 1,569 - 21
SWEDEN 719 538 466 - 13
9
Standardised Rates

• Although the United States receive most children
  for ICA , other countries have a higher level
  per 100,000 population or per 1,000 live births
  (adoption ratio).
• In 2004 the highest ratios were found in Norway,
  Spain and Sweden one for every 100 live births.
  In 2010 the highest ratio was found in Italy.

10
Adoption Ratios - per 1.000 births Receiving
States 1998 2010
Yeargt 2010 2004 1998
Norway 7.0 12.8 11.2
Spain 5.8 12.4 4.2
Sweden 4.5 11.7 10.8
Italy 7.4 6.4 4.4
USA 2.8 5.5 4.2
UK 0.2 0.5 0.4
11
Changes in Sending Countries

• There are no comprehensive global statistics
  the longest sequences of reliable statistics are
  US as a receiving country (1948-2011) and Korea
  as a sending country (1953-2011) .
• Many countries have been involved in intercountry
  adoption those sending most children have changed
  over time
• There are also major differences in where
  children go - e.g. going to USA and Europe in
  2004/2011

12
Top 10 Sending Countries 1980-2011
1980-89 1998 2004 2010 2011
Korea India Colombia Brazil Sri Lanka   Chile Philippines Guatemala Peru El Salvador Russia China Vietnam Korea Colombia   Guatemala India Romania Brazil Ethiopia China Russia Guatemala Korea Ukraine Colombia Ethiopia Haiti India Kazahkstan China Ethiopia Russia Haiti Columbia Vietnam Korea Ukraine India Philippines China Ethiopia Russia Columbia Ukraine Korea Vietnam India Philippines Brazil Congo RD
13
Top Four States of Origin
14
STATES OF ORIGIN 2004-2011
2004 2005 2007 2009 2011
China 13,415 14,496 8,744 5,085 4,405
Russia 9,379 7,480 4,880 3,395 3,327
Guatemala 3,424 3,872 4,851 799 40
Korea 2,241 2,121 1,223 1,438 961
Ukraine 2,019 1,987 1,614 1,518 1,073
Colombia 1,736 1,466 1,635 1,415 1,577
Ethiopia 1,527 1,778 3,034 4,575 3,456
15
Where did the children go in 2004 and 2011?
USA
Europe

• Guatemala 96 80 4 0
• Kazakhstan 91 58 8 20
• Korea 77 77 15 17
• Russia 62 29 36 65
• China 53 59 39 44
• ALL COUNTRIES 51 39 43 48
• India 39 36 53 52
• Ukraine 36 77 60 14
• Ethiopia 19 50 76 44
• Brazil 14 3 86 97
• Bolivia 2 0 98 94

16
Standardised Rates

• Although China sends most children for
  intercountry adoption, many other countries send
  more in relation to their current level of
  births.
• In 2005, the highest level (8.9) was found in
  Guatemala in 2003 in Bulgaria (15.5) in 2010
  in Haiti (9.8) even higher levels were
  recorded for Romania in 1991 and Korea in the
  early 1980s.
• Indias adoption ratio (0.03) is the lowest of
  the top ten sending countries - at Chinas level
  (0.84) the number of children sent in 2005 would
  have been over 20,000 p.a.

17
Adoption Ratios in States of Origin2005 and 2010
Country Adoptions 2005 Ratio 2005 Adoptions 2010 Ratio 2010
Guatemala Ukraine Russia Haiti Korea Colombia China Ethiopia Belarus India 3,872 1,987 7,480 958 2,121 1,466 14,496 1,778 23 873 8.9 5.5 4.9 3.8 4.6 1.5 0.84 0.57 0.26 0.03 58 1,705 3,395 2,601 1,153 1,798 5,480 4,404 102 615 0.1 4.2 2.0 9.8 2.4 1.9 0.33 1.69 1.12 0.02
18
Age of Children Adopted
EURADOPT 2010 EURADOPT 2010 EURADOPT 2010 EURADOPT 2005 EURADOPT 2005 EURADOPT 2005
0-1 1-4 5 0-1 1-4 5
Korea 92 8 0 96 4 0
S Africa 76 23 1 86 14 0
Ethiopia 36 56 8 47 38 15
China 11 87 1 28 72 0
India 4 68 28 8 76 16
Ukraine --- 21 79 --- 40 60
Brazil --- 22 78 --- 41 59
19
of Intercountry Adoptions from 4 continents
2003 2007 2011
ASIA 42 40 36
EUROPE 32 21 25
LATIN AMERICA 17 23 12
AFRICA 6 13 24
20
Adoptions from Asia

• Adoption from Korea started in 1950s. By
  2010, over 160,000 children had been adopted
  worldwide
• Adoptions from India and Philippines began in
  1960s from Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand
  Vietnam in the 1970s
• Since 1990s China has become the most
  important source of children worldwide, sending
  130,000 since 1992.

21
Adoption from China

• If adoptions had continued at 2005 rate, by 2010
  China would have sent as many children in
  fifteen years as Korea had in 50.
• In fact numbers have fallen and the total sent
  1992-2011 is about 132,000, well below the Korean
  total of 160,000 from 1953-2011
• A majority of children now have special needs
  and many more are older boys.

22
CHINA 1998-2011
Country V 1998 2003 2005 2008 2011
USA 4,206 6,857 7,903 3,912 2,589
Spain 196 1,043 2,753 619 664
Canada 901 1,108 973 431 343
NL 210 566 666 299 197
Sweden 123 373 462 206 107
TOTAL 6,128 11,203 14,492 5,970 4,399
23
of Children Adopted from China with special
needs (Hague)
2005 2007 2009
Netherlands 13 42 66
USA 14 42 61
All States 9 30 49
Sweden 6 25 69
France 6 13 34
Spain 0.1 4 9
Australia 1 0 5
24
Gender of Children Adopted
Eur Adopt 2005 Eur Adopt Adopt 2010
Female Male Ratio Female Female Male Ratio
China 1,724 118 94 308 308 482 39
India 123 71 63 44 44 21 68
Ethiopia 164 201 45 137 137 196 41
Korea 65 186 26 44 44 106 29
25
Other Asian Sending Countries
26
Adoption from South Korea

• In 2007 for the first time for many years there
  were more domestic than intercountry adoptions.
• But the annual number of transnational adoptions
  remains high for a country which is now rich and
  has lowest fertility in Asia.
• Korea still sends more children per 1,000 births
  than Ethiopia or China.
• A new act in 2012 prioritises domestic adoption
  and aims to reduce the number of children adopted
  abroad.

27
KOREA 1970-2010
YEAR Adoptions Births Ratio TFR
1970 1,932 1,006,645 1.9 4.53
1975 5,077 874,869 5.8 3.47
1985 8,837 662,510 13.3 1.67
1990 2,962 658,552 4.5 1.59
2000 2,360 636,780 3.7 1.30
2005 2,101 432,062 4.8 1.08
2010 1,013 478,000 2.4 1.30
28
Adoption in India

• India has the lowest adoption ratio of any
  major sending country and numbers have been
  falling from 1,364 in 2000 to 589 in 2011 with
  further fall expected in 2012.
• In-country adoptions are now more numerous
  but remain few in relation to need.
• At the same time concern over irregularities
  have been increasing so that this conference is
  indeed timely!

29
INDIA 1998-2011 Selman
Country 1998 2002 2006 2011 2012
USA 478 466 320 228 159
Italy 194 102 136 148 64
Canada 179 127 36 54 n/a
Denmark 120 93 30 7 n/a
Spain 97 109 79 35 n/a
TOTAL CARA 1,618 1,406 1,247 1,066 841 852 628 589 lt 500
30
In-country and Intercountry Adoption in India and
Korea
INDIA INDIA KOREA KOREA
Intercountry In-country Intercountry In-country
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2011 1,272 1,236 1,364 867 593 589 1,075 1,424 1,870 2,284 5,309 5,903 2,962 2,180 2,360 2,101 1,013 1,647 1,025 1,686 1,461 1,462
Population 1,103 million 1,103 million 47.8 million 47.8 million
Births 2005 25,926 thousand 25,926 thousand 438 thousand 438 thousand
Ratio 0.034 0.088 4.8 3.3
31
Other Asian Countries

• In the debates about child laundering, there has
  been concern expressed over adoptions from
  several Asian countries, including India.
• Cambodia, Vietnam and Nepal have all had to
  suspend intercountry adoption as a result of
  evidence of illicit activities by individuals and
  agencies

32
VIETNAM 2003-2012
Receiving Country 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2012
USA 382 7 828 481 0 0
France 234 790 268 308 264 76
Italy 59 140 263 231 142 41
Ireland 39 92 130 136 0 n/a
Canada 45 0 86 159 54 n/a
Sweden 32 80 54 65 23 0
Spain 0 0 0 65 178 n/a
TOTAL 936 1,198 1,695 1,518 704 lt300
33
The rise and fall of Eastern European adoptions

• The fall of Ceausescu in December 1989 and
  media coverage of the terrible conditions in
  Romanian orphanages led to a flood of rescuers
  taking children with an estimated 10,000
  adoptions from mid-1990 to the end of 1991
• 15 years later, Romania under strong pressure
  from the EU called a total end to inter-country
  adoptions other than by close relatives

34
Eastern Europe 2003-2011
2003 2004 2008 2011
Russia 7,746 9,425 4,140 3,325
Ukraine 2,052 2,021 1,577 1,073
Bulgaria 962 368 138 316
Belarus 636 627 9 150
Romania 471 289 0 5
Poland 345 408 408 298
Lithuania 85 103 127 143
Latvia 65 124 90 119
ALL EUROPE 13,113 13,934 7,033 5,887
35
Adoption from Russia

• On January 1st 2013 a new law came in banning
  adoption by American citizens - following the
  death of Dima Yakovlev from heat-stroke and
  earlier the case of Artyam Savelyev and other
  incidents involving children adopted in USA.
• Russia is also talking of banning all
  adoptions from countries not signing a bilateral
  agreement

36
RUSSIA 2004-2011
2004 2005 2007 2009 2011 2012
US (FY) 5,865 4,639 2,310 1,586 970 746
Spain 1,618 1,262 955 868 712 n/a
Italy 738 628 492 704 781 749
France 445 357 402 288 286 235
Ireland 189 131 160 100 124 n/a
Israel 95 73 108 75 102 n/a
Total 9,379 7,480 4,880 4,033 3,327 lt 3,000
37
Intercountry Adoption from Africa
For many years intercountry adoption from Africa
was rare. However, the growing demand for young
infants - and fall in numbers from many other
sending countries has changed all that, notably
in Ethiopia, which sent 4,575 children in 2009
and was the main supplier of children to Belgium
2nd largest to the USA, Canada, France and the
EurAdopt agencies 3rd largest to Australia.
38
Madonna and Child
39
AFRICA 2003-2011
2003-11 2003 2006 2008 2009 2011
Ethiopia 25,731 858 2,182 3,907 4,575 3,456
S. Africa 2,008 191 221 235 299 190
Liberia 1,399 34 371 254 38 31
Madagascar 1,384 394 137 15 40 57
Nigeria 1,373 64 104 223 184 245
Mali 1,198 136 126 108 195 163
TOTAL 42,125 2,337 3,967 5,783 6,548 5,705
to Ethiopia 62 37 55 68 70 61
40
Source of African Adoptions

• of adoptions from Ethiopia

• of adoptions from Ethiopia

41
TOP 7 AFRICAN STATES 2011
2011 2009 2007 2005 2003
Ethiopia 3,456 4,575 3,034 1,788 855
Congo DR 348 156 69 46 24
Nigeria 245 186 83 101 64
Uganda 228 74 57 22 12
Sth Africa 190 299 212 233 188
Mali 163 191 158 93 135
Ghana 114 122 58 50 18
All Africa 5,705 6,435 4,819 3,482 2,337
42
ETHIOPIA 2001-2011
2001 2004 2007 2009 2011 2012
USA 158 289 1,255 2,277 1,727 1,568
Spain 0 220 481 722 440 n/a
France 234 390 417 445 288 220
Italy 79 192 256 346 296 233
Canada 15 34 135 170 154 n/a
Belgium 38 62 124 143 144 n/a
TOTAL 728 1,527 3,034 4,575 3,456
43
Adoption from Latin America

• In the 1980s 6 of the top 10 sending
  countries were from Latin America. In 2008
  there were three Guatemala, Colombia and Haiti
  by 2011 only two Colombia and Brazil. Fewer from
  Colombia in 2012.
• By 2008, Haiti had became a new major source
  for France, Canada, the USA and the Netherlands
  hence the concern over recent events.
• Brazil still sends 3-500 children a year but
  most are older or have special needs. Chile and
  El Salvador send less than 100 a year
• .

44
Latin America 2003-2011
45
Adoptions from Guatemala

• In 2006 Guatemala was the third largest provider
  of children - 90 going to US
• But many European countries refused to work with
  Guatemala because of corruption.
• Now Guatemala has suspended adoptions and no
  longer features in the top 10
• Numbers fell from 4,851 in 2007 to 40 in 2011
• In 2012 there were only 7 adoptions to US

46
GUATEMALA 2001-2011
2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011
USA 1,609 2,238 3,783 4,728 773 32
France 187 247 5 0 0 0
Spain 46 8 0 8 6 0
N/lands 45 4 1 3 0 0
Canada 22 0 0 4 2 8
Total 2,010 2,677 3,872 4,851 799 40
to US 80 87 98 98 97 80
47
Child Rescue or Child Theft ?

• In 2010 The Haitian Earthquake raised fears of
  rescue of children affected. 10 members of an
  Idaho-based Baptist charity were arrested for
  trying to take 33 Haitian children across the
  border with the Dominican Republic without proper
  paperwork none were orphans
• Meanwhile fears were also raised over plans to
  expedite adoptions which were in the
  pipe-line leading to a major report from ISS
  and debate at the Hague Special Commission
• A large number of children were taken in the
  first 2 months after the earthquake to the USA ,
  France, Canada and Netherlands - but a year
  later adoption was severely restricted

48
HAITI 2006-2011
Receiving Country 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012
France 571 403 731 992 34 49
USA 309 190 302 1,223 33 154
Canada 123 89 148 172 111 n/a
N/lands 41 28 91 108 0 n/a
Germany 23 31 61 (62) ?? n/a
Belgium 1 0 3 14 3 n/a
Total 1,096 779 1,368 2,601 195 gt 200
49
Special Needs Adoption

• Tomorrow we will be looking at special needs
  adoption in the final few slides I
• will look further at the growth of such
  adoptions and the variation between states of
  origin and receiving states in the number sent
  or accepted. The future of ICA will increasingly
  involve such children.

50
Hague Special Commission 2010

• In their statistical returns to the 2010 Hague
  Special Commission, receiving states and states
  of origin were asked to indicate how many of the
  children sent have special needs. In a
  footnote these are defined as
• those who may be suffering from a behaviour
  disorder or trauma, physically or mentally
  disabled, older children (usually above 7 years
  of age) or are part of a sibling group
• The following slides look at some of the returns
  from both receiving and sending countries.

51
of Children with special needs- selected
sending countries (Hague)
2005 2007 2009
Chile 100 100 100
Latvia 53 42 80
Albania 59 42 66
Lithuania 30 34 71
China 9 30 49
52
Age of Children Adopted in Key Receiving
states - Hague
2005 2005 2007 2007 2009 2009
over 5 under 1 over 5 under 1 over 5 under 1
Italy 47 6 50 10 58 7
France 24 32 33 23 34 21
USA 16 42 18 39 25 25
Iceland 6 17 11 11 29 6
Australia 8 47 8 41 9 37
53
Special Needs ICA in Italy 2005-2009 (Hague)

• Italys return showed that by 2006 a majority
  (51) of children adopted had special needs in
  France 2012 this rose to 60 in 2009 - 2011.
• In the period 2005-11 in Padua 56.4 of children
  had special needs 34 - siblings 24 over age
  7 11.8 health problems 17 behavioural
  problems

54
Number of children adopted in Italy who were
said to have special needs
2006 Total of all 2009 Total of all 2011 Total of all
ALL CHILDREN 51 61 59
Brazil 275 95 298 90 294 97
Ukraine 140 69 487 90 248 84
Colombia 197 68 300 68 379 68
Russia 296 42 394 56 349 45
India 40 29 64 48 67 45
Ethiopia 88 39 126 32 97 33
Vietnam 31 13 12 5 12 8
55
Special Needs France 2012

• In France in 2012, 51 of adoptions were of
  children with special needs
• 30 were over age 5
• 21 were sibling groups
• 19 had health or other problems these were
  found most frequently in children from Russia
  (75) and Vietnam (58)

56
To Adopted Children Everywhere
We Wish you well