Drylands cover more than 41% of the Earth's land surface, including 66% of Africa, 40% of Asia, 24% of Europe, and 15% of Latin America. 72% of drylands occur in developing countries and this proportion increases with aridity - almost all hyper-arid lands are in the developing world. Nevertheless, the United States, Australia, and several countries in Southern Europe also contain significant dryland areas. According to the United Nations Convention for Combatting Desertification (UNCCD), climate change and human activities are fuelling the expansion of Drylands, with projections indicating that Drylands could account for 60% of our world by the close of the 21st century.