[SKL]

I would just like to point out that 2.5% of US kids are adopted. This is despite the fact that about a third of babies conceived here are aborted. Therefore, I really question the statement that a 1% adoption rate is the highest in the world. Perhaps the 1% is being compared only to international adoptions from other countries. If that is the case, consider that: (a) in the main countries where adoptions are not relatively difficult, such as China, India, and Russia, abortion is legal and accepted / encouraged as a family planning practice, which is not the case in Guatemala; (b) domestic legal adoptions of indigenous kids in Guatemala are rare, from what I've read, and (c) international adoption policies in most countries are so restrictive that many kids who are available for adoption are left in orphanages instead. Given the above, I do not feel a 1% international adoption rate is surprising at all, even if it is the highest in the world.

I agree with the other posters in that the 1% rate is what I've seen everywhere, as is the approximately 4-5% infant/child mortality rate.