The rise and fall of intercountry adoption in the 21st century
From International Social Work
Despite adoption of children from developing countries seemingly en vogue within celebrity circles, global child adoption levels have actually dropped during the latter half of the last decade. The much publicized adoptions in recent years by Brad Pitt with Angelina Jolie, Sandra BullockĀ and Madonna may have given the impression to the public that intercountry adoption has become more popular but this article reveals that following continued steady growth during the last 50 years, it reached a worldwide high of over 45,000 a year in 2004 and has since steadily dropped.

