Overview

• 3,662 children were adopted in 2024, a 1.7% increase from the year before
• Stepparent adoptions accounted for about 74% of cases, joint couple adoptions made up roughly 25% and single individuals approximately 2%
• Adopted children were on average 5.3 years old, with half under two at the time of adoption and 72% having lived with a biological parent prior to being adopted
• Two percent of adoptions involved children from abroad, most commonly from Thailand, South Africa and Sri Lanka
• Adoption applications declined by 14% to 3,440 and registered children for adoption fell by 26% to 665 in 2024