Top surrogacy countries for Australians
The United States remains the most popular place for Australian intended parents to undertake surrogacy, according to figures from the Department of Home Affairs. Australian children born overseas in the years ended 30 June 2020, 2021 and 2022 have been:
Australian overseas surrogacy births 2020-2022
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| 275 | 223 | 213 |
The top 6 countries for Australian children born overseas through surrogacy: 2022
| Rank | Country | Births |
| 1 | USA | 99 |
| 2 | Ukraine | 49 |
| 3 | Canada | 21 |
| Equal 4 | Georgia | 7 |
| Equal 4 | Colombia | 7 |
| 6 | Thailand | 6 |
| Total top 6 | 189 | |
| Total births | 213 | |
| Percentage of births in the top 6 countries | 89% |
Despite the pandemic, the figures have remained pretty stable.
The US remains the most popular destination. It is likely that when Australian domestic births through surrogacy are published in a couple of years for the 2022 year, that there will have been more Australian children born via surrogacy in the US than at home, as there have been other years. There has never been a year when the number of births in Australia via surrogacy has reached 99. The highest was in 2018 with 74 domestic births, though it is likely that 76 were born in Australia in 2020. The number of births in the Ukraine is not a surprise, given that the effect of the war was not largely felt until February 2022. Colombia is now seen as a surrogacy destination. Despite law changes following the Baby Gammy saga and the Thai baby farm scandal, both in 2014, Thailand remains a surrogacy destination for Australian intended parents.
As seen in other years, a small number of births, in 2022 11%, have occurred in other destinations, typically countries that Australian citizens migrated from. Those 24 births in countries not in the top 6 occurred in 14 other countries.
