The annual worldwide figure for children abducted by their own parents is closest to which number?

• A. 50,000
• B. 100,000
• C. 200,000
• D. 500,000

Answer: (C)

Estimating how often children are abducted by a parent worldwide is about understanding magnitudes rather than pinpoint numbers. Across studies and reports, the figure that is routinely cited sits in the hundreds of thousands, reflecting the reality that such incidents are relatively common and often underreported, with data coming from many different countries and systems that don’t always capture every case.

The commonly cited estimate around two hundred thousand aligns with this broad sense of scale. It sits between lower bound figures and much larger totals, making it a reasonable midpoint that many organizations use when discussing the issue. The other options—too low—would understate the scope given what multiple sources suggest, and the higher figure would imply a level of global cases that exceeds what most data sources indicate.

So, the reason two hundred thousand is the best match is that it represents a widely used rough global estimate that reflects the general magnitude of parental abductions, acknowledging that exact worldwide counts are elusive and vary by reporting practices.