About Adoptees
2.5% of U.S. children under the age of 18 are adopted.
A growing nunber of children are now placed through independent (private) adoption with estimates ranging from 1/2 to 2/3 of infant adoptions.
2% of unmarried women at any age place their children for adoption.
About American Adoptions
Since 1987, the number of adoptions annually in the U.S. has remained relatively constant, ranging from 118,000 to 127,000.
Fewer than 50,000 children find families through intercountry adoption each year.
There are 16 adoptions for every 1,000 nonmarital live births.
About Adoptive Families
An estimated 10 million couples would attempt to adopt a child domestically if they felt they had a realistic opportunity to do so.
Nearly 4 in 10 American adults (81.5 million) have considered adoption.
48% families considering adoption turn to their houses of worship for support and information.
What Americans Think
In 1998, 56% of Americans held a "very favorable" opinion of adoption. Today, 63% hold this opinion.
November is National Adoption Awareness Month.