NEW YORK — The number of foreign children adopted by U.S. parents dropped by 12 percent last year to the lowest level since 1981, according to State Department figures.

The department's report for the 2015 fiscal year shows 5,648 adoptions from abroad, down from 6,438 in 2014 and 75 percent below the high of 22,884 in 2004. The number has fallen every year since then.

China accounted for the most children adopted in the U.S. Its total of 2,354 was up 15 percent from 2014, but far below the peak of 7,903 in 2005.

However, there was a sharp drop in adoptions from other countries that had been high on the 2014 list: The numbers fell from 716 to 335 for Ethiopia; 521 to 303, Ukraine; and 464 to 143, Haiti.

Even with the decline, Ethiopia was No. 2 on the list, followed by South Korea, Ukraine, Uganda, Bulgaria, Latvia and Congo.

There were no adoptions from Russia, which imposed a ban that took effect in 2014. The ban served as retaliation for a U.S. law targeting alleged Russian human rights violators.

The last time there were fewer foreign adoptions to the U.S. overall was in 1981, when, according to U.S. figures, there were 4,868 adoptions from abroad.

Chuck Johnson, CEO of the National Council of Adoption and a critic of State Department adoption policy, expressed dismay at the steady overall decline.

“There are tens of thousands of Americans — and many in other countries too — who want to open their hearts and homes to children, but are not considered a viable alternative,” Johnson wrote.