Adopting from Africa: Which Countries Are Open and What to Know in 2025

Interest in adopting from African countries has persisted among U.S. families despite the near-total closure of most African adoption programs. The reasons for that interest are understandable—genuine desire to provide permanency to children in high-need regions. The reality of the landscape in 2025 is sobering: most African countries that once placed children with U.S. families have closed or severely restricted their programs, and the ones that remain open carry significant risk factors.

Understanding why the programs closed—and what that means for the few that remain technically open—is essential before any family pursues African international adoption.

Countries Formally Closed to U.S. Families

Ethiopia was once the second or third largest sending country for U.S. international adoption. In 2018, Ethiopia effectively ended international adoption for non-heritage families after a parliamentary vote citing concerns about exploitation, loss of cultural identity, and institutional corruption. Limited exceptions remain for families of Ethiopian origin. For all practical purposes, Ethiopia is closed to standard international adoption for U.S. citizens.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was another high-volume program that collapsed. The program has been suspended for U.S. families since approximately 2015 due to unresolved exit permit issues. Families who completed Congolese adoptions were unable to bring their children home because the DRC government stopped issuing exit permits for internationally adopted children. Dozens of U.S. families remain in a multi-year bureaucratic situation. New adoptions from DRC are not being processed.

Uganda does not have a formal international adoption program and has not reliably facilitated U.S. adoptions. Several high-profile fraud cases involving fraudulent "orphan" designations led to heightened U.S. scrutiny.

Rwanda and Tanzania do not have established international adoption programs for U.S. families.

African Countries with Active Programs for U.S. Families

South Africa is a Hague Convention country with a domestic adoption system that allows international adoption under specific circumstances—typically for South African citizens residing abroad or families with direct South African connections. The program is not a general international adoption option for U.S. families with no South Africa connection.

Togo is a Hague Convention contracting party and has placed some children with U.S. families. The program is small and requires a deep in-country agency presence. Very few U.S. agencies have active Togo programs.

Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) has placed small numbers of children with U.S. families through Hague-compliant processes. Similarly niche, with limited U.S. agency capacity.

Kenya is a Hague Convention country. Kenya places children through its Children's Court process and has maintained a small but functional international adoption program. Requires significant in-country legal involvement.

Nigeria: Open but High-Risk

Nigeria is the African country most frequently inquired about by U.S. families because it is technically open to the Orphan Process (I-600A/I-600) and has a large population. However:

• The I-600 denial rate for Nigerian adoptions was 69% in 2022 and 73% in 2023, the highest of any country in the world
• The State Department has issued formal notices warning of "systemic fraud, unreliable documentation, and child-selling" in Nigerian adoption processes
• The I-604 field investigation conducted by the U.S. Consulate in Lagos frequently cannot verify the biological origins of children or the authenticity of abandonment documents
• Families who proceed, finalize the adoption in Nigeria, and then are denied the immigrant visa face an extremely difficult situation: they are legally responsible for a child in Nigeria they cannot bring to the U.S.

Nigeria is not a viable adoption path for most U.S. families in 2025. The fraud risk, denial rate, and potential consequences are too significant.

Why African Adoption Programs Have Closed

The closures are not arbitrary. They follow a pattern across multiple countries:

1. Domestic child protection systems identified that "orphaned" children often had living parents who were coerced or deceived into relinquishment, often with financial inducements
2. Growing awareness of adoption fraud led governments to recognize they could not monitor their own systems effectively
3. International pressure from UNICEF, Save the Children, and other organizations emphasizing family preservation over international adoption
4. African Union positioning that children's welfare is best served within their birth families and cultural communities
5. Economic development in some countries reduced the pressure that pushed families toward relinquishment

The pattern across Ethiopia, DRC, and Uganda is similar: a rapid increase in international adoptions driven by U.S. demand, followed by evidence of systemic problems, followed by program closure or severe restriction. This history is directly relevant to families considering the few remaining African programs—the same dynamics could apply.

The Transracial Adoption Context

Ninety-seven percent of international adoptive parents are white, and 88% of international adoptions are transracial. African adoption specifically places Black children with white families in high percentages. This reality carries specific responsibilities around racial identity development, anti-racism education, connection to cultural heritage, and preparation for the racial realities their children will face in the U.S.

Families pursuing any transracial international adoption—and African adoption specifically—should engage seriously with resources on transracial parenting, seek out communities of adult African adoptees, and prepare to actively maintain their child's cultural connections. This is not optional; it is part of ethical adoptive parenting.

What to Do if You're Specifically Called to Africa

For families with a specific cultural, spiritual, or geographical connection to an African country, a few options exist:

• Speak directly with agencies that have specific current Africa programs (not general international adoption agencies who list Africa as a region)—ask how many successful placements they have completed in the last 12 months from specific countries
• Consider foster care or sponsorship programs with reputable organizations working in specific countries if your interest is in supporting children in-country rather than international placement
• Pursue Kenya, Togo, or Eswatini only with agencies that have deep, active in-country infrastructure and can demonstrate recent completed cases

The International Adoption Navigation Guide covers the Hague and non-Hague processes for all active programs, country stability factors, and how to evaluate whether an agency has genuine in-country capacity before you pay any fees.