Decrease in International Adoptions

According to the January/February 2009 issue of Adoptive Families magazine there has been a decrease in international adoptions. It reports that:

the number of intercountry adoptions to the U.S. fell 12 percent in the past year—from 19,613 to 17,438—to reach the lowest level since 1999, according to data from the U.S. Department of State. The largest drop was from China, due to tighter restrictions on foreign adoptions. Ethiopia adoptions, however, are on the rise, and experts expect increases in other African and Latin American countries in the next year.

Top 10 countries 2007:
China - 5,453
Guatemala - 4,728
Russia - 2,310
Ethiopia - 1,255
Korea- 939
Vietnam- 828
Ukraine- 606
Kazakhstan - 540
India - 416
Liberia - 314

2008:
Guatemala- 4,123
China- 3,909
Russia - 1,861
Ethiopia - 1,725
Korea- 1,065
Vietnam - 751
Ukraine- 457
Kazakhstan- 380
India - 307
Colombia - 306