Adoptions plummeting, ELSTAT data show

Adoptions in Greece fell to a decade low in 2016, figures by the Hellenic Statistical Authority show, with 221 adoptions taking place over the entire year in Greece, against a high of 543 in 2012. Year-on-year, adoptions dropped 18.5 percent last year, compared with 271 carried out in 2015.

The largest drop in adoptions was recorded in Attica (103 in 2016 from 155 in 2015, -33.5 percent), northern Greece (63 from 73), the islands of the Aegean and Crete (16 from 28), and central Greece (16 from 29).

The new parents were a married couple in 143 of the 221 adoptions carried out last year, while in 2015 the number of married couples among the 271 adoptions was 169.

Single-parent adoptions dropped significantly in 2016 to 43 against 80 in 2015, a rate of 46.3 percent.

Of the 221 children adopted last year, 150 were born out of wedlock, 36 were born to a married mother and 35 did not have a clear legal status. Also, 62.5 percent, or 138 adoptions were of children aged up to 5 years old. Only 25 of the adoptions were of children aged 6-10 and 22 were in the 11-18 range, while there were also 32 adoptions of individuals aged above 19 years old.

It is worth noting that the average time it takes for an adoption from a state institution to go through in Greece is four to five years.