Fast Facts:
China:
Adoptions in '12: 2,697
Children under 1 year old: 11%
Children 1-4 years old: 71%
Timeline: 4+ years for healthy children
Est. total cost: $15,000 to $25,000
Ethiopia:
Adoptions in '12: 1,568
Children under 1 year old: 26%
Children 1-4 years old: 51%
Timeline: 26 months or longer
Est. total cost: $25,000 to $40,000
South Korea:
Adoptions in '12: 627
Children under 1 year old: 38%
Children 1-4 years old: 61%
Timeline: About 1 year for special needs children; 3-4 years for healthy children
Est. total cost: $25,000 to $40,000
Ukraine:
Adoptions in '12: 395
Children under 1 year old: Less than 1%
Children 1-4 years old: 24%
Timeline: Generally 4-18 months
Est. total cost: $25,000 to $40,000
Democratic Republic of the Congo:
Adoptions in '12: 240
Children under 1 year old: 36%
Children 1-4 years old: 50%
Timeline: 1-2 years
Est. total cost: $25,000 to $40,000
Uganda:
Adoptions in '12: 238 Children under 1 year old: 10%
Children 1-4 years old: 59%
Timeline: 1-2 years
Est. total cost: $20,000 to $30,000
Colombia:
Adoptions in '12: 195
Children under 1 year old: 19%
Children 1-4 years old: 28%
Timeline: Generally 18-30 months
Est. total cost: $30,000 to $40,000
Taiwan:
Adoptions in '12: 177
Children under 1 year old: 43%
Children 1-4 years old: 35%
Timeline: Generally 1-3 years
Est. total cost: $20,000 to $35,000
India:
Adoptions in '12: 159
Children under 1 year old: 3%
Children 1-4 years old: 66%
Timeline: 1-2 years
Est. total cost: $20,000 to $35,000
Haiti:
Adoptions in '12: 154
Children under 1 year old: <1%
Children 1-4 years old: 52%
Timeline: 18-24 months
Est. total cost: $25,000 to $40,000
The modern era of international adoption began after the Korean War, when Korean and Amerasian orphans were placed with families living in the United States. Since then, Americans have completed hundreds of thousands of international adoptions. In fiscal year 2011, U.S. families adopted 9,319 children from other countries.
The majority of internationally-adopted children are young; in 2010, 21% were under one year of age, and an additional 53 percent were between the ages of one and four. Children who need adoption are most often from Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, or Latin America.
Typically, the waiting time (and sometimes the total costs) for intercountry adoption are more predictable than for a domestic adoption. Intercountry adoptions are usually handled by private, nonprofit adoption agencies. Some agencies that handle domestic adoptions also work in intercountry adoption, although there are many agencies that specialize only in intercountry adoption.
There are special considerations that families adopting abroad should be prepared for. The background and health information they will receive about their child will likely be incomplete and may be unreliable. Frequently, changing political situations increase uncertainties of intercountry adoption, and countries may open or close adoption traffic without notice. After adoption, for the child to develop self-esteem and pride, family members must incorporate into their lifestyle elements of the child's original culture, including friendships with people of the child's ethnicity. Arming your child against racism is another duty of transracial families. Many families report, however, that embracing another culture is one of the unanticipated joys of intercountry adoption.