Key points
- As of the end of 2025, there were 59,350 orphans and children deprived of parental care in Ukraine – 4% less than the previous year.
- One-third of them are orphans who have lost both parents, and the rest are deprived of parental care for various reasons.
- In 2025, Ukraine recorded 2,097 candidates for adoption – 13% less than in 2024.
- The largest number of candidates live in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast.
- Last year, 1,150 children found new families – 10% less than in 2024, when 1,273 children were adopted.
- For the third year in a row, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast leads in terms of the number of adoptions, followed by Kyiv Oblast and Odesa Oblast.
As of the end of 2025, there were 59,350 orphans and children deprived of parental care in Ukraine – 4% less than the previous year. On average, the number of such children decreases by 3% every year. This is evidenced by Opendatabot data.
One-third of them – 20,705 children – are orphans who have lost both parents. The rest are children deprived of parental care, who are not always eligible for adoption.
Out of 60,000 children living in boarding schools, only about 5,000 have the status that allows them to be adopted. The rest are so-called social orphans: they have parents or legal representatives, but live in institutions for various reasons. Accordingly, they cannot be formally adopted.
– lawyer and adoptive mother Inna Miroshnichenko.
In 2025, Ukraine recorded 2,097 candidates for adoption – 13% less than the previous year. Among them, 1,619 were couples and 479 were single individuals.
Almost half of the candidates are people between 40 and 50 years old, 41% are under 40, and only 10% are over 50.
The largest number of candidates live in:
- Kyiv – 244;
- Kyiv oblast – 224;
- Lviv oblast – 191;
- Dnipropetrovsk oblast – 182.
Despite the growing interest in adoption in previous years, last year 1,150 children found new families – 10% less than in 2024, when 1,273 children were adopted.
The adoption procedure itself is quite clear, understandable, and not too complicated, but it takes time. A significant barrier is also the territorial system of selecting a child: a candidate is registered in their district and receives information only about children who are registered in the same district. Previously, the Ministry of Social Policy database partially solved this problem, where you could see children who were not placed locally, but now this tool does not work, and as a result, candidates often simply cannot find their child.
– Inna Miroshnichenko.
According to the lawyer, a significant number of children in the system are large family groups of three, five, or even more siblings who cannot be separated. Meanwhile, most candidates are ready to take in one child, or at most two.
For the third year in a row, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast leads in terms of the number of adoptions, where last year 136 children found new families. Next are Kyiv Oblast with 122 and Odesa Oblast with 101 children.
At the same time, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast has the largest number of orphans and children without parental care – 7,397.
In addition to adoption, last year 6,627 children were placed under guardianship or care – 7% less compared to 2024.
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