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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for December 8, 2017
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
December 8, 2017: During 2016, Americans adopted 5,370 children from other countries. That figure reflects a dramatic decline from the early years of this century, which saw more than 20,000 such adoptions annually.[1]
Pew Research reports that “the decline in international adoptions has been driven by a significant drop in adoptions from the five countries where most international adoptees were born: China (which accounts for 78,257 of a total 267,098 adoptees from 1999 to 2016), Russia (46,113), Guatemala (29,805), South Korea (20,318) and Ethiopia (15,317). Together, these five countries have accounted for 71% of all adoptions to the U.S. since 1999.”[1]
Despite the sharp decline, the U.S. adopts more foreign-born children than any other nation. While 24 nations receive such children through adoption, America accounts for 46% of the total. One interesting twist to the 2016 data is that—for the first time since records were kept—more males were adopted than females. Pew suggests that this may be driven by the recent easing of China’s “one-child policy, which contributed to the large share of girls who were put up for adoption in the past.”
And it’s also worth noting that 89 American children were adopted by families in other countries. “Canada adopted 39 American children, followed by the Netherlands (25) and Ireland (13).”
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- December 7, 2017 – 76 years ago today, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt became first national figure to speak about attack on Pearl Harbor
- December 6, 2017 – 71 percent of Americans favor major changes to or repeal of Obamacare
- December 5, 2017 – 69 percent of children lived with two parents in 2016
- December 4, 2017 – 18 miles: median distance Americans live from Mom
- December 1, 2017 – 742 proposals to amend the U.S. Constitution since 1999
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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