<P> Rates and causes of deforestation vary from region to region around the world . In 2009, 2 / 3 of the world forests were in 10 top countries: 1) Russia, 2) Brazil, 3) China, 4) United States, 5) Canada, 6) Australia, 7) Congo, 8) Indonesia, 9) Peru and 10) India . </P> <P> World annual deforestation is estimated as 13.7 million hectares a year, equal to the area of Greece . Only half of this area is compensated by new forests or forest growth . In addition to directly human - induced deforestation, the growing forests have also been affected by climate change, increasing risks of storms, and diseases . Kyoto protocol includes the agreement to prevent deforestation but not the actions to fulfill it . </P> <P> Africa is suffering deforestation at twice the world rate, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Some sources claim that deforestation has already wiped out roughly 90% of West Africa's original forests . Deforestation is accelerating in Central Africa . According to the FAO, Africa lost the highest percentage of tropical forests of any continent during the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s . According to the figures from the FAO (1997), only 22.8% of West Africa's moist forests remain, much of this degraded . Nigeria has lost 81% of its old - growth forests in just 15 years (1990--2005). Massive deforestation threatens food security in some African countries . One factor contributing to the continent's high rates of deforestation is the dependence of 90% of its population on wood as fuel for heating and cooking . </P> <P> Research carried out by WWF International in 2006 shows that in Africa, rates of illegal logging vary from 50% in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea to 70% in Gabon and 80% in Liberia--where timber revenues played a major role in financing the Sierra Leone Civil War and other regional armed conflicts until the UN Security Council imposed a ban on all Liberian timber in 2003 . </P>

Where is the majority of deforestation currently taking place