The wild tiger population in the world has declined by more than 98% in the past 200 years; the present tiger population of 3,643 is only 5% of the population a century ago. Concerned by this sharp decline of an iconic animal of the Asian tropical forests, the heads of government of 13 tiger range countries conferred at the International Tiger Forum in St Petersburg, Russia in 2010. In the meeting they expressed a written commitment to double the wild tiger population by 2022 in an attempt to protect this endangered species from extinction.