Adoptions, 1999

More foreign children

539 children (67 per cent of all adoptees) had foreign citizenship before being adopted. By comparison, the yearly average was around 52 per cent in 1980-85, and 31 per cent in 1971-75. In 1999, 539 foreign children were adopted, of which well over half were of Asian background. 107 children were adopted from South Korea, 103 from China, 80 from Colombia, 54 from India, 37 from Ethiopia and 21 from Russia.

Fewer stepchild adoptions

The percentage of stepchild adoptions declined throughout the entire 1980s until 1995, but has risen modestly in recent years. Compared with the 1970s the decline is huge. Fifty per cent of all adoptions then were of stepchildren, compared with 26 per cent in 1999. Most of the children were Norwegian. Of the other adoptions in 1999, 89 per cent were foreign.

Most girls from China

The gender breakdown shows 380 boys and 422 girls. Twice as many girls as boys were adopted from Asia, and the proportion for the Chinese children was especially lopsided: just three boys compared with 100 girls. Boys were in the majority in the Norwegian adoptions and in those from other European countries, America and Africa. The vast majority of adoptees, 507, were under three years of age.

Tables:

• Table 1 Adoptions, by the relationship of the adoptive parents to the child before adoption, and by previous citizenship of the child. 1966-1999
• Table 2 Adoptions, by the relationship of the adoptive parents to the child before adoption, and by previous citizenship, sex and age of the child. 1999
• Table 3 Adoptions, by sex, age and previous citizenship of the child. 1999