A total of 32 individuals were adopted in Iceland in 2016. Step-parent adoptions were 17 and primary adoptions 15. There have not been as few adoptions in one year since 1995. In 2015 the total number of adoptions was 47.
Primary adoptions
In twelve cases, children in primary adoptions came from abroad. Primary adoptions from abroad have been between 10 and 18 in the last five years. In recent years most children have come from China, but in 2016 nine of the 12 children came from the Czech Republic. Primary adoption is an adoption of a child who is not the child of the applicant’s partner.
Step-parent adoptions
Step-parent adoptions were unusually low in 2016 or 17, a steep decrease from the previous year when they were 28. In all cases adoptive parents were step-fathers, which has always been more common. Primary adoptions within the country were only three in 2016. Step-parent adoption means an adoption of a partner’s child (or step-child).