Guyana records 37 adoptions in 2026, highest in 7 years

Guyana has recorded 37 adoptions so far in 2026, the highest annual figure in the past seven years, as the Human Services and Social Security Ministry seeks to encourage more families to consider providing permanent homes for children in need of family care. The figures, released by the Ministry on November 9 in observance of World Adoption Day, show that a total of 201 adoptions were finalised in Guyana between 2020 and 2026.

Statistics show that 23 adoptions were recorded in 2020, increasing to 31 in 2021 before declining to 22 in 2022. The country subsequently recorded 30 adoptions in both 2023 and 2024, followed by 28 in 2025. Thirty-seven adoptions, the Ministry said, which was recorded this year represent an increase of nine compared with 2025 and the highest number for any single year during the period.

According to the Ministry, the increase comes against the backdrop of developments within the country’s adoption system, including the passage of the Adoption of Children (Amendment) Act in 2021 and the establishment of the Guyana Central Authority in November 2024, which facilitated the resumption of international adoptions.