Adoptions have been steadily increasing in Iceland, according to the latest data from Statistics Iceland. In the year 2008, 69 individuals were adopted in Iceland. By comparison, 51 people were adopted the year before.
Adoptions of children from other countries reached a high point in 2005, when 41 children were brought to Iceland. Of these, 25 were from China.
There are two types of adoption recognised in Iceland: the adoption of the children of a spouse (basically, becoming a step-parent), and the adoption of children not connected to the family by marriage. The latter sort has decreased from 18 to 13 between 2007 and 2008. The only time it has been lower was in 1998, when only 12 children were adopted in this manner.
“Step-adoption”, by contrast, has been on the rise. In 2008, 46 children were adopted this way, breaking all previous records. In most cases, it was the husband in the relationship who adopted the child or children of his wife.