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International adoption. Applications for adoption. By countries Catalonia
2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998
Applications for adoption 207 144 211 148 236 266 270 320 378 400 504 650 827 1,058 865 1,430 1,858 2,493 2,588 3,168 2,939 2,111 1,892 1,660 1,522 1,181
Total Europe 18 15 24 20 36 44 40 54 82 108 201 233 319 403 318 499 567 617 752 1,295 1,196 1,052 934 629 536 455
Bulgaria 7 4 7 10 17 24 7 7 23 14 7 17 65 153 23 0 1 0 12 67 98 112 84 81 72 106
Hungary 2 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 2 3 2 5 4 5
Lithuania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Moldavia 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 70 0 0 0 0 0 0
Czech. R 1 1 2 4 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Poland 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 8 22 24 16 6 10 4 4 7 19 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Romania 0 4 3 0 4 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 68 138 234
Russia 0 0 0 0 3 4 7 21 36 62 169 204 235 223 277 466 536 586 639 882 751 695 470 261 141 78
Ukraine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 6 23 14 22 9 19 89 266 252 232 322 213 180 25
Rest of Europe 8 6 8 4 3 13 24 17 0 0 4 4 3 0 0 2 0 2 5 10 93 10 4 1 1 7
Total Africa 45 19 20 31 37 11 6 11 26 112 80 236 281 451 319 371 433 375 313 311 325 122 43 44 12 11
Burkina Faso 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 10 4 2 5 2 6 3 1 2
Cameroon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cape Verde 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ivory Coast 8 7 9 17 28 0 0 0 1 3 6 61 6 22 61 22 9 3 1 13 6 10 4 4 1 0
Gambia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ethiopia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 13 97 43 67 108 207 134 188 342 218 255 220 207 43 1 0 0 0
Guinea Bissau 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mali 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47 82 67 59 111 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Madagascar 14 10 10 14 9 11 5 9 10 10 23 9 12 17 0 0 1 5 7 39 59 42 19 20 7 4
Nigeria 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Morocco 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 68 119 30 42 39 30 21 20 30 8 5 6 1 1
Congo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 48 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Democratic Republic of Congo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 44 11 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
Senegal 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 26 7 4 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rest of Africa 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 2 2 2 3 0 0 4 14 11 18 17 8 11 2 4
Total America 77 51 77 45 95 96 93 119 119 57 111 106 167 143 133 165 275 233 223 240 388 398 305 353 555 462
Bolivia 31 15 33 4 5 9 11 20 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 8 59 22 19 36 26 17 3 6 29 20
Brazil 3 1 7 2 3 5 5 9 12 7 9 6 13 16 7 13 33 31 45 52 78 59 28 13 101 87
Colombia 21 15 21 8 15 7 9 3 3 12 44 79 110 92 82 81 78 63 82 61 118 131 99 85 110 94
Costa Rica 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 2 4 2 5 5 8 7
El Salvador 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 2 3 2 0 1 3 5 4 13 39 68 33 13 24 42
Ecuador 1 2 1 0 4 2 0 1 2 4 6 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 8 5 11 17 34 41 13
Guatemala 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 10 14 14 11 7 23 38 31 59 79 34
Haiti 0 0 0 3 33 39 32 37 61 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 48 35 20 32 25 3 2 0 2
Honduras 6 3 2 1 3 2 2 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 6 10 4 3 5 7 7
Mexico 1 2 0 1 5 3 3 1 1 2 4 3 2 2 6 11 13 10 7 13 13 11 17 58 83 91
Panama 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nicaragua 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 6 7 17 3 4 0 3 3 8 13 0 0 0 1 0 8 6 5
Peru 12 8 12 19 21 18 16 15 10 16 19 10 26 20 21 35 32 11 7 9 11 10 35 38 38 20
Dominican Republic 1 3 1 3 5 10 13 25 21 0 8 1 6 4 2 1 3 11 3 5 17 12 20 13 17 20
Venezuela 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 3 3 7 4 3
Chile 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 11 5 6 4 1 11
Rest of America 0 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 3 1 4 0 1 2 3 7 6
Total Asia 67 59 90 52 68 115 131 136 151 123 112 75 60 61 95 395 583 1,268 1,300 1,322 1,030 538 610 634 419 253
Philippines 2 2 4 8 13 13 18 27 19 22 8 6 17 6 19 18 21 2 8 23 0 0 0 0 0 0
India 7 8 17 11 12 20 30 30 15 14 16 12 15 20 22 16 9 34 37 43 29 26 48 75 85 77
Kazakhstan 0 0 0 1 4 11 3 0 2 5 54 34 0 2 2 40 147 50 91 52 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nepal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 88 85 70 129 108 83 45 41 65 55
Thailand 4 3 1 1 4 10 0 4 2 6 6 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sri Lanka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 5 14 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Vietnam 54 45 67 30 28 60 75 72 112 74 26 10 0 1 1 163 0 0 0 0 2 19 13 2 0 1
China 0 1 1 1 7 1 3 3 1 2 2 13 28 28 47 148 303 1,085 1,094 1,071 866 403 503 513 266 114
Rest of Asia 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 4 25 7 1 3 3 6
Total Oceania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Source: Institut Català de l'Acolliment i de l'Adopció.

Last update: February 21, 2024.

ADOP

These statistics have a specific section with all the information available: Statistics on Adoption and Fostering of Children (ADOP).

Methodological note

Definition of concepts

Adoption
Legal situation accorded judicially that leads to a parent-child relationship with identical effects to that produced naturally and that provides a family to a non emancipated minor or exceptionally to an adult or an emancipated child and person older than 25 years or a married couple or de facto couple, as long as there is a difference of 14 years in the ages of the adopted and the adopters. However, international adoption presents peculiarities such as the need for the adoption process to be in keeping with the legislation of the country of origin of the minor and the inscription of the full resolution of the adoption in the Central Civil Register, which produces plenary executive rights to the Spanish state as well as the acquisition by the minor being adopted of Spanish nationality.

Methodological aspects

Fostering and adoption

The Institut Català de l'Acolliment i de l'Adopció (Catalan Institute for Fostering and Adoption - ICAA, Ministry of Social Welfare and Family), with the purpose of helping to drive forward a general policy on adoption and basic placement in foster families, to streamline the process to assess suitability of people or families applying to foster or adopt, and to process international adoptions when required.

Adoption is the legal, psychological and social process of fully and definitively integrating a child in a family into which he/she was not born. It is a child protection measure that provides a parent-child relationship with the same legal effects as biological parenthood, and at the same time ends the legal bond with the family of origin, always in the best interests of the child.

The legislation that governs the adoption process is as follows: Law 25/2010, of July 29, of the second book of the Civil Code of Catalonia, on the person and the family. This legislation establishes in article 235 point 30 the requirements that persons wishing to adopt must comply with:

  • Be in full exercise of their civil rights.
  • Be older than twenty-five years and be at least fourteen years older than the person being adopted.
  • Adoption is only admitted for more than one person in the case of the spouses or partners living stably together. In these cases, it is sufficient for just one of the persons to be at least twenty-five years old.

International adoption

This is the legal process of adopting children from other countries on the basis of the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. This Convention ensures that:

  • The adoption is for the benefit of the child.
  • The child has been declared adoptable.
  • The applicant family has a certificate of suitability.
  • No person that is not the actual child can benefit improperly from this adoption.

The assignation of a child to a family depends exclusively on the sovereign decisions of the child's country of origin.

The Catalan Institute of Fostering and Adoption is certified in the quality management system for the activities of: processing the resolution of suitability for international adoption in accordance with the requirements of regulation ISO 9001: 2008.

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