Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

International Adoption from China and India 1992–2018

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Social Welfare in India and China

Abstract

This chapter compares and contrasts trends in international adoption in the two countries over a period of 27 years from 1992 to 2018. The data presented are based on statistics provided by 20+ receiving States. The period reviewed saw a sharp rise in the global number of intercountry adoptions from 14,000 in 1992 to 45,000 in 2005, followed by a steady decline over the next 14 years. During this period, China became the major source for international adoption, accounting for 152,000 of the 700,000 adoptions recorded in these years. In this chapter, changes in the characteristics—e.g. age and gender—of the children chosen for adoption are also explored, focusing on the move towards special needs adoption and the growth in domestic adoption in the two countries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Altstein, H., & Simon, R. (1991). Intercountry Adoption; a Multinational Perspective. New York, NY: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagley, C. (1993). Chinese Adoptees in Britain: A Twenty-Year Follow-Up of Adjustment and Social Identity. International Social Work, 36, 143–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballard, R.L. Goodno, N.H., Cochran, R.F., & Milbrandt, J.A. (Eds.). (2015). The Intercountry Adoption Debate: Dialogues Across Disciplines. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellock, P., & Yardley J. (2006, December 20). China Tightens Adoption Rules for Foreigners. New York Times.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bharat, S. (1993). Child Adoption in India: A Study of Adoption Agencies. Mumbai: Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhargava, V. (2005). Adoption in India: Policies and Experiences. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bos, P. (2007). Once a Mother: Relinquishment and Adoption from the Perspectives of Unmarried Mothers in South India. Nijmegen: Radbout University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brierley, S. (2014). A Long Way Home: a Memoir. Hawthorn, Australia: Viking (republished by Penguin Books in 2014 under the title Lion).

    Google Scholar 

  • Briggs, L. (2012). Somebody’s Children: The Politics of Transracial and Transnational Adoption. London: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan, E. (2005). From China with Love: A Long Road to Motherhood. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, S. (1999). Voices from Another Place: A Collection of Works from a Generation Born in Korea and Adopted to Other Countries. Seoul: Yeong & Yeong.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damadoran, A., & Mehta, N. (2000). Child Adoption in India: An Overview. In P. Selman (Ed.), Intercountry Adoption; Development, Trends and Perspectives (pp. 405–418). London: BAAF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dohle, A. (2008). Inside Story of an Adoption Scandal. Cumberland Law Review 39 (1), 131–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorow, S.K. (1999). I Wish for You a Beautiful Life. Minnesota: Yeong & Yeong Book Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorow, S.K. (2006). Transnational Adoption: A Cultural Economy of Race, Gender, and Kinship. New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dowling, M., & Brown, G. (2008). Globalisation and International Adoption from China. Child & Family Social Work 14 (3), 352–361.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, K. (2000). The Lost Daughters of China: Abandoned Girls: Their Journey to America and Their Search for a Missing Past. New York: Tarcher/Penguin Putnam Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feast, J., Grant, M., Rushton, A., & Simmonds, J. (2013). Adversity, Adoption and Afterwards: A Mid-Life Follow-Up of Women Adopted Hong Kong. London: BAAF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fong, M. (2016). One Child; the Story of China’s Most Radical Experiment. London: Oneworld Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fong, R., & McRoy, R. (Eds.). (2016). Transracial and Intercountry Adoptions: Cultural Guidance for Professionals. New York City: Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/fong1725.

  • Fonseca, C. (2009). Transnational Connections and Dissenting Views; The Evolution of Child Placement Policies in Brazil. In D. Marre and L. Briggs (Eds.), International Adoption: Global Inequalities and the Circulation of Children (pp. 154–173). New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fronek, P., & Cuthbert, D. (2012). The Future of Inter-Country Adoption: A Paradigm Shift for this Century. International Journal of Social Welfare 21 (2), 215–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Futia, C. (2007). Heritage Camps and Heritage Tours. In J. Pati (Ed.), Adoption; Global Perspectives and Ethical Issues. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gay y Blasco, P. (2012). ‘A Wondrous Adventure’: Mutuality and Individuality in Internet Adoption Narratives. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Society 18, 330–348.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graff, E. (2009, October 6). The Lie We Love. Foreign Policy. Available from: https://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/06/the-lie-we-love/. Accessed 23 March 2019.

  • Groza, V. (2000). A Study of Indian Families Adopting Indian Children. Washington, DC: Holt International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hague Conference on Private International Law. (2010). Conclusions and Recommendations of the Special Commission of June 2010. The Hague: HCCH. Available from: https://assets.hcch.net/upload/wop/adop2010_rpt_en.pdf. Accessed 15 April 2019.

  • Haugaard, J., Palmer, M., & Wojslawowicz, J. (1999). International Adoption; Children Primarily from Asia and South America. Adoption Quarterly 3 (2), 83–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hjern, A., Lindblad, B., & Vinnerlung, C. (2002). Suicide, Psychiatric Illness and Social Maladjustment in Intercountry Adoptees in Sweden: A Cohort Study. The Lancet, 360, 443–448. https://doi.org/10.16/s0140-6736(02)009674-5.

  • Hoksbergen, R. (Ed.). (1986). Adoption in Worldwide Perspective. Lisse: Swets & Zeutlinger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoksbergen, R. (1991). Intercountry Adoption Coming of Age in the Netherlands: Basic Issues, Trends and Developments. In H. Altstein & R. Simon (Eds.), Intercountry Adoption; A Multinational Perspective (pp. 141–158). New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubinette, T. (2006). Comforting an Orphaned Nation: Representations of International Adoption and Adopted Koreans in Korean Popular Culture. Seoul: Jimoondang Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubinette, T., & Tigervall, C. (2009). To Be Non-White in a Colour-Blind Society: Conversations with Adoptees and Adoptive Parents in Sweden on Everyday Racism. Journal of Intercultural Studies 30 (4), 335–353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huh, N.S., & Reid, W.J. (2000). Intercountry, Transracial Adoption and Ethnic Identity: A Korean Example. International Social Work 43 (1), 75–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johansson, S., & Nygren, O. (1991). The Missing Girls of China: A New Demographic Account. Population and Development Review 17 (1), 35–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K., Banghan, K., & Liyao, W. (1998). Infant Abandonment and Adoption in China. Population & Development Review 24 (3), 469–510.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K.A. (2004). Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son: Abandonment, Adoption, and Orphanage Care in China. St Paul, Minnesota: Yeong & Yeong Book Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, K.A. (2016). China’s Hidden Children; Abandonment, Adoption and the Human Costs of the One-Child Policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joyce, K. (2013). The Child Catchers; Rescue, Trafficking and the New Gospel of Adoption. New York: Public Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Juffer, F., & van IJzendoorn, M.H. (2005). Behavior Problems and Mental Health Referrals of International Adoptees: A Meta-Analytic Approach. JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association 293, 2501–2515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Juffer, F., & van IJzendoorn, M.H. (2009). International Adoption Comes of Age: Development of International Adoptees from a Longitudinal and Meta-Analytical Perspective. In G. Wrobel & E. Neill (Eds.), International Advances in Adoption Research. London: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kane, S. (1993). The Movement of Children for International Adoption: An Epidemiological Perspective. The Social Science Journal 30 (4), 323–339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, E.J. (2010). Adopted Territory: Transnational Korean Adoptees and the Politics of Belonging. Durham and London: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klatzkin, A. (Ed.). (1999). A Passage to the Heart, Writings from Families with Children from China. Yeong & Yeong Book Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krishnakumar, A. (2005). The Adoption Market. Frontline 22 (11).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindblad, F., Hjern, A., & Vinnerjung, B. (2003). Intercountry Adopted Children as Young Adults—A Swedish Cohort Study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 73 (2), 190–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo, N., & Bergquist, K. (2004). Born in China: Birth Country Perspectives on International Adoption. Adoption Quarterly 8 (1), 21–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macedo, N. (2000). A Home Away from Home; The Experience of an Indian Child Welfare Programme. In P. Selman (Ed.), Intercountry Adoption; Development, Trends and Perspectives (pp. 419–433). London: BAAF.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGinnis, H., Livingston Smith, S., Ryan, S.D., & Howard, J.A. (2009). Beyond Culture Camp; Promoting Healthy Identity Formation in Adoption. New York: Evan B. Donaldson Institute. Available from: http://www.adoptioninstitute.org/research/2009_11_culture_camp.php. Accessed 23 March 2019.

  • Mehta, N. (1992). Ours By Choice: Parenting Through Adoption. Bombay: Rite-Print-Pak.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meier, P., & Zhang, X. (2008). Sold into Adoption: The Hunan Baby Trafficking Scandal Exposes Vulnerabilities in Chinese Adoptions to the United States. Cumberland Law Review 39 (1), 87–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mezmur, B.D. (2008). From Angelina (to Madonna) to Zoe’s Ark; What Are the A-Z Lessons for Intercountry Adoption in Africa? International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 23 (2), 145–173.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park Nelson, K. (2016). Invisible Asians; Korean American Adoptees, Asian American Experiences and Racial Exceptionalism. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pati, J. (Ed.). (2007). Adoption; Global Perspectives and Ethical Issues. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ponte, I., Wang, L., & Fan, S. (2010). Returning to China: The Experience of Adopted Chinese Children and Their Parents. Adoption Quarterly 13 (2), 100–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2010.481039.

  • Potts, M., & Selman, P. (1979). Society & Fertility. Plymouth: Macdonald & Evans.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramaswamy, G. (2003, August 1). The Baby Harvest: Scandal Over Westerners “Shopping” for Children in India. New Internationalist.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riley, M. (2015). An Imbalance of Justice: Birth Mothers in Uganda. In R.L. Ballard, N.H. Goodno, R.F. Cochran, & J.A. Milbrandt (Eds.), The Intercountry Adoption Debate: Dialogues Across Disciplines (pp. 618–626). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rojewski, J., & Rojewski, J. (2001). Intercountry Adoption from China: Examining Cultural Heritage and Other Post Adoption Issues. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rollings, J. (2008). Love Our Way: A Courageous Mother’s Story That Gives New Meaning to the Word Family. Sydney: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rushton, A., Grant, M., Simmonds, J., & Feast, J. (2012). Assessing Community Connectedness and Self-Regard in a Mid-Life Follow-Up of British Chinese Adoptees. Adoption & Fostering 38 (3–4), 62–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M., O’Connor, T., Beckett, C., Castle, J., Croft C., Dunn, J., Groothues, C., & Kreppner, J. (2000). Recovery and Deficit Following Profound Early Deprivation. In P. Selman (Ed.), Intercountry Adoption; Development, Trends and Perspectives (pp. 107–125). London: BAAF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M., Beckett, C., Castle, J., Kreppner, J., Stevens, S., & Sonuga-Burke, S. (2009). Policy and Practice Implications from the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) Study. London: BAAF.

    Google Scholar 

  • San Roman, B., & Marre, D. (2014, August 11–13). Understanding the Fluxes of Adoption Demand: The Case of Spain. International Forum on Intercountry Adoption and Global Surrogacy. The Hague: International Social Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • San Roman, B., & Rotabi, K.S. (2017). Rescue, Red-Tape. Child Abduction, Illicit Adoptions and Discourse: Inter Country Adoption Attitudes in Spain. International Social Work, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.477/0020872817714314.

  • Selman, P. (Ed.). (2000). Intercountry Adoption; Development, Trends and Perspectives. London: British Association for Adoption & Fostering.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selman, P. (2002). Intercountry Adoption in the New Millennium: The ‘Quiet Migration’ Revisited. Population Research & Policy Review 21, 205–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selman, P. (2006). Trends in Intercountry Adoption 1998–2004: Analysis of Data from 20 Receiving Countries. Journal of Population Research 23 (2), 183–204.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selman, P. (2009a). From Bucharest to Beijing: Changes in Countries Sending Children for International Adoption 1990 to 2006. In G. Wrobel & E. Neil (Eds.), International Advances in Adoption Research for Practice (pp. 41–69). London: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selman, P. (2009b). Intercountry Adoption; Research, Policy and Practice. In G. Schofield & J. Simmonds (Eds.), The Child Placement Handbook: Research, Policy and Practice (pp. 276–303). London: BAAF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selman, P. (2009c). The Rise and Fall of Intercountry Adoption in the 21st Century. International Social Work 52 (5), 575–594.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selman, P. (2015a). Intercountry Adoption of Children from Asia in the Twenty-First Century. Children’s Geographies 13 (3), 312–327. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2015.972657.

  • Selman, P. (2015b). Global Trends in Intercountry Adoption: 2003–13. In R.L. Ballard, N.H.Goodno, R.F.Cochran, & J.A. Milbrandt (Eds.), The Intercountry Adoption Debate: Dialogues Across Disciplines (pp. 9–48). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selman, P. (2019). Global Statistics for Intercountry Adoption: Receiving states and States of origin 2004–18. Available from: https://assets.hcch.net/docs/a8fe9f19-23e6-40c2-855e-388e112bf1f5.pdf.

  • Selman, P. (2020). International Adoptions from the People’s Republic of China 1992–2018. Available on request from: pfselman@yahoo.co.uk.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smolin, D. (2005a). The Two Faces of Intercountry Adoption: The Significance of the Indian Adoption Scandals? Seton Hall Law Review 35, 403–93. Available from: http://works.bepress.com/david_smolin/2. Accessed 23 March 2019.

  • Smolin, D. (2005b). Intercountry Adoption as Child Trafficking. Valparaiso Law Review 39 (2), 281–325. Available from: http://works.bepress.com/david_smolin/3. Accessed 23 March 2019.

  • Smolin, D. (2005c). Child Laundering: How the Intercountry Adoption System Legitimizes and Incentivizes the Practices of Buying, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Stealing Children. Bepress Legal Series. Working Paper 749. Available from: https://law.bepress.com/expresso/eps/749. Accessed 23 March 2019.

  • Smolin, D.  (2007). Child Laundering as Exploitation: Applying Anti-Trafficking Norms to Intercountry Adoption Under the Coming Hague Regime Expresso Online. Available from: http://works.bepress.com/david_smolin/4.

  • Smolin, D. (2011). The Missing Girls of China: Population Policy, Culture, Gender, Abortion, Abandonment and Adoption in East Asian Perspective. Cumberland Law Review 41 (1), 1–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smolin, D. (2012). Of Orphans and Adoption. Parents and the Poor, Exploitation and Rescue: A Scriptural and Theological Critique of the Evangelical Christian Adoption and Orphan Care Movement. Regent Journal of International Law 8 (2), 324–367. Available from: http://works.bepress.com/david_smolin/10.

  • Stuy, B. (2014). With Foreword by David Smolin—Open Secret: Cash and Coercion in China’s International Adoption Program. Cumberland Law Review 44 (3). Available from: http://works.bepress.com/david_smolin/15/.

  • Tan, X.T. (2004). Child Adjustment of Single-Parent Adoption from China: A Comparative Study. Adoption Quarterly 8 (1), 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, X.T. (2006). History of Early Neglect and Middle Childhood Social Competence: An Adoption Study. Adoption Quarterly 9 (4), 59–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan, T.X., Marfo, K., & Dedrick, R. (2010). Early Developmental and Psychosocial Risks and Longitudinal Behavioral Adjustment Outcomes for Preschool-Age Girls Adopted from China. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 31 (4), 306–314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tessler, R., Gamache, G., & Liu, L. (1999). West Meets East: Americans Adopt Chinese Children. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trenka, J. (2003). The Language of Blood: A Memoir. Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trenka, J., Oparah, J., & Shin, S. (2006). Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Population Division. (2009). Child Adoption: Trends & Policies. New York: UNPD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Von Melen, A. (2000). Strength to Survive and Courage to Live. In P. Selman (Ed.), Intercountry Adoption: Development, Trends and Perspectives (pp. 499–512). London: BAAF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L. (2010). Importing Western Childhoods into a Chinese State-Run Orphanage. Qualitative Sociology 33 (2), 137–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L. (2016). Outsourced Children: Orphanage Care and Adoption in Globalizing China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L.K., Ponte, I.C., & Ollen, E.W. (2015). Letting Her Go: Wester Adoptive Families’ Search and Reunion with Chinese Birth Parents. Adoption Quarterly 18 (1), 45–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2014.945703.

  • Yngvesson, B. (2010). Belonging in an Adopted World: Race, Identity, and Transnational Adoption. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, Politics & Sociology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Peter Selman

Authors
  1. Peter Selman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Shandong University, Jinan, China

    Jianguo Gao

  2. Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Rajendra Baikady

  3. Central University of Karnataka, Kalaburagi, India

    Lakshmana Govindappa

  4. Shandong University, Jinan, China

    Sheng-Li Cheng

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Selman, P. (2020). International Adoption from China and India 1992–2018. In: Gao, J., Baikady, R., Govindappa, L., Cheng, SL. (eds) Social Welfare in India and China. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5648-7_22

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5648-7_22

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-5647-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-5648-7

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation