Adoption is rare these days.
Germany is discussing surrogacy. And the alternative: adoption. Currently, the number of adopted children is at its lowest level in 35 years. Why?
By Anastasia Tikhomirova and Kaja Klapsa
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The Federal Statistical Office recently reported yet another new record low. "Number of adoptions falls to lowest level since German reunification," the statistics agency headlined in early July. Only 819 children were adopted by third parties last year, meaning not by stepparents or relatives.
The news is remarkable, especially given the ongoing debate surrounding CDU politician Jens Spahn. A week ago, he announced that he and his husband had used a surrogate mother in the USA. The announcement sparked outrage, particularly because Spahn had previously opposed the legalization of surrogacy in Germany. Two days later, he resigned as chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.
In the discussion surrounding Spahn's desire to have children, the question often arose as to why he and his husband hadn't adopted a child in Germany. Same-sex couples have been legally allowed to marry and adopt children in Germany since 2017. In a podcast with journalist Paul Ronzheimer, Spahn spoke of the "hurdles and requirements" associated with adoption. He said he had "struggled with the decision for a long time" and was "torn," but ultimately opted for surrogacy.
Only half as many adoptions from outside the family as 15 years ago.
201020152020202505001 Tsd.1,5 Tsd.1,7 Tsd.819
Adoptions outside the family
Figures refer to Germany
Those: awakened
His decision aligns with the declining number of adoptions in Germany. Besides the general drop in birth rates, the sharp increase in assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments is a "significant influencing factor," says Ina Bovenschen, a psychologist at the German Youth Institute (Deutsches Jugendinstitut e. V.) who researches adoption. Those who desire a biological child have more medical options today than in the past. In addition, there is the possibility of using a surrogate mother abroad. The number of children conceived through this method and living in Germany is not statistically recorded.
Foster care is more common than adoption.
Another reason, according to Bovenschen, is that unplanned pregnancies are now less common. Furthermore, government support services have been expanded, reducing the financial pressure to give up a child, he says. Importantly, single parents are also less stigmatized in society today.
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Parents often choose not to put their child up for adoption, opting instead for foster care. Youth welfare offices usually support this approach as well, aiming to maintain the child's social and legal ties. This means the child should be able to return to their family of origin if the parents, in the assessment of the youth welfare office, are ready.
Children placed in adoption or foster care can be given for a variety of reasons, often ranging from acute endangerment to temporary parental overwhelm during a crisis, to the parents' permanent inability to care for the child. The legal situation and the duration of the placement are correspondingly heterogeneous, says Ina Bovenschen – from a short-term temporary solution to a de facto "permanent foster care arrangement" lasting many years, often without the child's permanent placement being legally guaranteed.
More than 87,500 young people lived in foster care across Germany in 2024. That's a hundred times the number adopted in the same year. An additional 134,000 were in residential care. Both figures have increased since 2022. According to the Federal Statistical Office, this increase is primarily due to unaccompanied minor refugees who entered Germany alone.
Care in nursing homes and foster families is increasing
Number of young people in foster families or homes
Those: awakened
At the same time, the number of international adoptions has fallen drastically. Only 56 children were adopted internationally last year, most frequently from Thailand, South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Sri Lanka. This is due to stricter regulations and the fact that countries of origin now prefer to care for their children within their own borders. Furthermore, international adoptions are now facing greater moral scrutiny in Germany.
Although the number of adoptions and prospective adoptive parents has been declining for years, there are still significantly more applicants than children. At the end of 2025, there were five potential adoptive families for every child registered for adoption. Many applicants, whether same-sex or heterosexual, wait for years for a placement offer for a child, sometimes in vain.
Andrea Gergenreder is an adoption placement officer at the Berlin Adoption Service, a joint project of the Caritas Association and the Diakonie (Protestant social welfare organization). Due to the long waiting list, applicants in Berlin have to wait about one and a half to two years before the actual suitability assessment can begin. This assessment then takes about nine to twelve months and includes, among other things, the review of numerous legally required documents, interviews, and home visits.
The age difference should not exceed 40 years.
After that, the prospective adoptive parents would be entered into a database and wait to be selected as the most suitable adoptive couple for registered children. This could take two weeks, two years – or it might never happen. The waiting list in Berlin currently consists of 70 couples, roughly half heterosexual and half queer. Nationwide, three percent of all adoptions in 2024 were by same-sex couples.
Furthermore, older applicants can face disadvantages when it comes to child placement. While there is no legal upper age limit in Germany, the Federal Association of State Youth Welfare Offices recommends paying attention to a "natural age gap" between adoptive parents and child. Youth welfare offices sometimes interpret this to mean that the parents may be no more than 40 years older than their child. At 46, Spahn would therefore likely have had difficulty adopting a young child in Germany. For many couples, taking in a foster child is therefore a more realistic option. However, there is less interest in this.
Lisa Haring is the director of the Rainbow Families Center of the LSVD Association Queer Diversity Berlin-Brandenburg. She says this is partly due to the legal situation. With foster children, everyday decisions, such as those concerning travel abroad or finances, are often dependent on the youth welfare office, Haring explains. Legal parenthood remains with the birth parents, even if it is clear that a return to them is hardly possible. Generally, a foster care arrangement can only be converted into an adoption with the consent of the birth parents.
Added to this is the concern of many parents about potential developmental impairments. "Foster children sometimes have already been through several stages in the foster care system and have special support needs," says adoption agency worker Gergenreder. Sometimes, parents are also afraid of conditions like fetal alcohol syndrome (FASD), which can occur if the birth mother consumed alcohol during pregnancy. As a result, the affected child may exhibit behavioral problems. This is also a possibility for adopted children. "For this reason, we discuss in great detail with the couples during the suitability assessment what they feel capable of and where their limits lie," says Gergenreder. This ensures that the best possible parents for the child are found through the adoption process.
Fewer and fewer children are being adopted.
Number of adoptions in Germany per year
Those: destatits
Gergenreder would like to see more openness and awareness about the fact that adoption can be an option in cases of unplanned pregnancies. "Many people still believe that giving their child up for adoption means a complete break in contact." It needs to be better known that the Adoption Assistance Act was reformed five years ago . The law now stipulates that discussions should be held with the birth parents about whether and how contact with the child should be maintained.
However, a lack of willingness to adopt among foster parents is also being discussed in academic circles, says expert Bovenschen from the German Youth Institute. Financial reasons are suspected as the primary cause: Adoption eliminates the regular foster care payments and one-off special payments from the youth welfare office. This can place an additional financial burden on adoptive parents, especially in the case of children with special needs, says Bovenschen.
Most adopted children are stepchildren.
Although the number of adoptions has reached a historic low, there is also a counter-trend: the number of stepchild adoptions is rising. These cases accounted for 75 percent of all 3,500 adoptions in Germany last year. A stepchild adoption occurs when one parent has a new partner who adopts the non-biological child.
Or consider lesbian couples where, for example, a woman gives birth to a child through sperm donation and her partner has to adopt the child. In a two-mother family, under current law, the non-birthing mother does not automatically become a legal parent, even if the family has long been living together. The same applies to certain situations involving non-binary or trans* parents.
Stepchild adoption is by far the most common scenario.
Adoptions in 2025…
Those: awakened
In heterosexual marriages, the situation is completely different: Here, the husband is automatically considered the legal father after the birth of a child – regardless of who the biological father is. An unmarried man can also acknowledge paternity with the mother's consent. "Parenthood is thus linked to gender. This is legal inequality," says Lisa Haring from LSVD Berlin-Brandenburg. Currently, at least six such cases are pending before the Federal Constitutional Court.
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Alex.g.
4 hours ago
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The reason many foster parents don't adopt is also due to this. If you apply for adoption of a foster child and the parents don't agree, you lose all foster care benefits. This means you no longer receive foster care payments but still can't make decisions on your own. And since many foster children have problems, this is important. That's why the foster families I know adopted after the child turned 18. Then the child gets to decide.
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Tip
17 hours ago
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Adoption is difficult in Germany. Many people go abroad. Foster children? I've seen it in my immediate family. For years, their mother's claims for reimbursement hung over them. Back and forth. The children are adults now. They never wanted to be anywhere else. The foster parents kept their cool. Respect!
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coast guard
17 hours ago
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“Parenthood is thus linked to gender. This is a legal inequality,” says Lisa Haring from LSVD Berlin-Brandenburg.
Well, yes. First of all, legal parenthood is tied to the mother and the man married to her at the time of birth. This is regulated by law and is correct in the vast majority of cases. The logic behind it is relatively simple. It's about a) ensuring the child has a legal father and b) it's the biological norm for two people of different sexes to conceive a child. As far as I know, this is impossible for same-sex couples. Therefore, there is no questionable unequal treatment here; it's simply a case of unequal situations being treated unequally. Which is quite common in the German legal system.
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MM
Maria Mustermann
17 hours ago
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It would be desirable if foster families were more valued and supported. Then long-term foster care could become a viable alternative for more parents. Foster parents don't receive parental leave pay, they can't simply move or take a vacation due to work commitments. It's demanded that each child has their own room, that one parent gives up their job for years, that sufficient financial resources are available, and so on. You have to be privileged to afford all of this. There's a fear of poverty in old age. Visitation rights must be guaranteed. And not to be underestimated, the rights of the birth parents are strong, stronger than those of the foster children. Often, the system prevents corrective attachment experiences within the foster family. Adopted children are psychologically healthier than foster children for this reason. So, there's nothing "easy" about it. I admire all the families, children, and professionals who give their best, and I hope they all receive the support they deserve in the future. ♥️
⭐️ 9❤️ 19
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coast guard
17 hours ago
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"Another reason is that unplanned pregnancies are now less common."
This should be reflected in a decrease in the number of abortions. Is that the case?
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1 engineer
18 hours ago
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The headline
Adoption is rare these days.
It made me think that was a bad thing. But after reading the article, I think it's a positive development. Or am I misunderstanding something?
My understanding of the article is as follows:
1. Every child who seeks adoptive parents will find them.
2. There are fewer tragic cases that leave a child without parents.
Good. Right?
⭐️ 19❤️ 7🙁 1🤨 2
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S
Sieyès
18 hours ago
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Although the number of adoptions and prospective adoptive parents has been declining for years, there are still significantly more applicants than children. At the end of 2025, there were five potential adoptive families for every child registered for adoption. Many applicants, whether same-sex or heterosexual, wait for years for a placement offer for a child, sometimes in vain.
"But why don't you just adopt?"
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Bluew
18 hours ago
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Why are so many children in care? Is there a lack of potential foster parents, or is foster care simply not an option for some children?
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"Julius "
18 hours ago
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The reason is likely the increasing awareness of the strong influence genetics has on character. This genetic factor is generally much greater than the external influence of the family home. This means that in some cases, the adopted child remains a stranger to the adoptive parents. This is probably a deterrent.
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Thirsty Ficcus
18 hours ago
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His decision aligns with the declining number of adoptions in Germany. Besides the general drop in birth rates, the sharp increase in assisted reproductive technology treatments is a "significant influencing factor."
I don't quite understand this. If the ratio of parents seeking adoption to children available for adoption is indeed around 8:1, then surely 100% of these children should still find a new family. Therefore, this shouldn't have any effect on the absolute numbers.
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Stadersand
19 hours ago
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In principle, it is a good thing that the number of adoptions is declining and that better solutions are being found for child development.
Furthermore, this number is probably also decreasing simply because fewer and fewer children are being born in Germany.
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Fleurdelion
19 hours ago
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Surrogacy has the advantage that the child genetically inherits at least some traits from one or both partners and is likely to be genetically healthy. In addition, there is significantly less bureaucracy and a clear legal situation. So why wait years for adoption and potentially be deemed "not suitable enough"? Only those who can't afford anything else do that. I witnessed the tragedy of a foster child with FASD in my circle of acquaintances. The foster parents knew nothing about it, and supposedly neither did the youth welfare office. The foster parents were completely overwhelmed, and support was scarce. They persevered, and after years of wrangling, the foster child was allowed to stay, but their own lives are now entirely dominated by worry for this child. They can hardly travel because the child cannot cope with changes of location. The child will never develop beyond the intellectual level of an 11-year-old, and the mother can no longer work because finding childcare is difficult. It's a choice you have to be willing to make.
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Chrisfritz
19 hours ago
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Adoption in Germany is not a simple process! I know this from personal experience, having witnessed it firsthand. Fostering or open adoption presents just as many challenges as opportunities. I know foster parents who repeatedly had to endure hell with one of their foster children because their foster daughter was sent back to her birth family three times due to three incorrect assessments by the responsible youth welfare office. The child then experienced physical violence and sexual abuse by her biological father, who had supposedly undergone successful therapy. Twice, the child returned to the foster family completely physically and psychologically broken. When the girl was sent back to her biological parents for the third time, and the youth welfare office contacted the foster family again a few weeks later to ask if they would take her back, as similar problems had unfortunately arisen again unexpectedly, the foster parents couldn't cope anymore. They themselves could no longer manage the extremely difficult emotional situation. Shortly afterward, her marriage broke down, partly because of this; therefore, the ability or inability of the responsible youth welfare office often plays a crucial role in how and whether such a situation "works." Even in cases of open adoption, I have observed that the children were emotionally torn between their adoptive and biological parents. This doesn't have to be the case, but it does happen.
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SGer
20 hours ago
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Comparing adoptions per year with foster children, who hopefully live in a family for many years, is flawed. Shouldn't one compare adoptions (a one-time event) with placement in a foster family (also a one-time event)? Or adopted children up to age 17 with foster children?
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RudelRolf
20 hours ago
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A decisive factor in choosing surrogacy can be the desire to have at least a little bit of one parent's personality. Adoption, after all, involves a genetically different child and can certainly trigger some fear or doubt; at least that's how it was for me, but everyone has their own opinion on this!
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Charly
20 hours ago
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"Parenthood is thus linked to gender. This is legal inequality," says Lisa Haring from LSVD Berlin-Brandenburg.
Ahem, yes, you need a biological man and a biological woman to have a child. If two men or two women are married, there's still a third. Of course, parenthood is linked to gender; that's how it works biologically in mammals.
My suggestion would be: If the three of them agree (or if the father has waived all rights from the outset in the case of sperm donation), then an appointment can be made with the youth welfare office. Perhaps with a waiting period of four weeks, so that the surprised father has time to think it over.
However, if there are differing opinions, then a completely normal adoption should proceed with all the required checks.
And, above all, the child has a right to know who its biological father is. Firstly, because this can be important later on in the case of certain illnesses. Secondly, because the man exists and the child has inherited genetic material from this father. The man is then the father and has a right to care for his child.
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