Hi Highinthesky
First off, are you in Ireland or the UK?
I can say a little about the UK, but nothing about Ireland. Our Irish posters are all still hanging around though as far as I though, so if you are Irish, I'm sure they'll try their best to advise you :)
Generally, for both countries
Yes, being single makes a difference, because to adopt internationally, you need to meet the requirements of both your home country, and the country you're adopting from. Some countries do not allow single women to adopt, or only allow single women to adopt older children or special needs children
So if you are thinking of a certain country, you need to first find out whether it's possible for anyone to adopt from there at this point in time and you also need to check whether that country accepts single women, and what (if any) age restrictions they have, also restrictions based on physical/mental health, maybe even income/weight/sexuality restrictions (there are a couple of countries which require single women to sign a statement affirming their heterosexuality for instance).
And also obviously you need to be comfortable with the needs of some of the children who can be adopted by single women, so you can find/be referred a good match. Also, if you are most interested in adopting a child from an orphanage, you really need to research and be comfortable the issues that children who have lived in orphanages can have - developmental delays are extremely common, attachment issues and institutionalised behaviour can be an issue etc.
Assuming you're British, obviously ignore this bit if you aren't
The government have been making big moves to streamline the domestic adoption process. The approval process for domestic adoption is now about a 5/6 month process, although that's just approval, you have to actually find a child after that, which can take weeks or months to a year+. As far as I know, none of this affects international adoption at all, so nothing has changed
International adoption from the UK remains a long and difficult process, and it's very uncommon. It might be possible for you, but it depends which countries are open and what kind of child you would like to adopt
There is, I think, a China special needs program operating from the UK. China allows single women to adopt "special focus" children. To go onto the "special focus" list a child has to have significant special needs and/or be an older child, and to have been waiting for adoption for a certain length of time without finding a two parent home. There will be some under 3's on the list. They may either live in an orphange or in a foster home
Russia allows single mums, but there's a big to-do about Russian adoption at the moment, and it's possible that Russia may ban adoption from European countries at some point, so it would be risky to start the process for Russia. But it's still an option at this point in time. Some regions of Russia are open to single women, and all the children will live in an orphanage. I think you could adopt a child of any age, but again many children might have some level of special needs, and/or orphanage related issues
I'm not sure if any other south asian countries are an option for a single woman, or what countries are even open to adoption. The UK bans all adoption from Cambodia. Think Vietnam is closed...maybe Thailand (?)... can't think of any others. Can I ask why South Asia in particular?
The Interncountry Adoption Centre would be good to contact - they can tell you where you might adopt from - www.icacentre.org.uk/
Would you consider a UK domestic adoption?