The number of adoptions in Germany fell to its lowest point since German reunification in 1990 in 2025. According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Friday, a total of 3,517 children were adopted nationwide that year. This represents a decrease of 4 percent, or 145 fewer children, compared to the previous year. This trend continues the long-term decline in adoptions in Germany. Since dropping from a peak of 8,687 adoptions in 1993 to below half by 2009, the numbers have generally stabilized at a low level, fluctuating between approximately 3,500 and 4,100 cases, with a slight recent downward trend.
Regarding the characteristics of the children adopted in 2025, over a quarter-27 percent-were under one year old at the time of adoption. Another 31 percent were one or two years old. The average age of the adopted children was 5.1 years. The majority of the children were adopted by a couple consisting of a biological parent and a step-parent, accounting for 74 percent of cases. Additionally, 10 percent were adopted from a hospital or a mother-child home, and 8 percent were adopted from foster families. In three percent of cases, the adoption followed an anonymous birth or handover via a baby box, and in two percent, it was preceded by institutional care.
The share of international adoptions remained low in 2025, with only 1.6 percent-56 children-being brought in from abroad. The countries of origin most frequently included Thailand, South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Sri Lanka.
In terms of the adopting families, 45 percent of the adopted children were taken in by their stepmothers, and 30 percent by their stepfathers (the new partners of the legal parents). Nearly one in four children (about 23 percent) were adopted by a couple together. Of these couples, 21 percent were of opposite sexes, while 3 percent were same-sex. The remaining two percent were taken in by unrelated or related single individuals.
Despite the overall decline, adoptions by step-families continued to gain importance in 2025. Between 2010 and 2025, the proportion of stepchild adoptions rose significantly from 54 percent to 75 percent, reaching a new historical high (it was 74 percent in 2024). This development is notably driven by stepmothers in same-sex partnerships. When a child is born into an existing relationship between two women, the partner can only obtain the legal status of a biological parent through a stepchild adoption. In 2025, 1,586 stepmothers adopted children, with an average age of 1.9 years. In 80 percent of these cases, the adopting parties were female couples and provided no information about the father. These cases accounted for 36 percent of all adoptions in 2025, up from 34 percent in 2024 and 31 percent in 2023.
Statisticians explain the overall decrease in adoption figures primarily by citing the ongoing decline of “classic” adoptions-meaning adoptions by people who are neither step-parents nor relatives of the child. In 2025, classic adoptions reached a new low of 819 cases. This is mirrored by the number of children registered for adoption (642) and adoption applications (3,187). In 2025, there were five potential adopting families for every child registered for adoption. Possible underlying reasons provided for the slowing figures include changing family forms, expansion of state support for families, stricter child protection regulations, and advancements in reproductive medicine.
