Introduction

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations populace has been characterized to be younger
as compared to other regions in the world such as that of the America and Europe. The trend in the
past decade has been showing of consistent population growth in the region with an average of
0.85% annual growth rate (ASEAN,2013). The current population in the ASEAN is 633 million
(ASEAN, 2016) in which the Philippines ranks as the second highest next to Indonesia and before
Vietnam. Although there has been a forecast that the average annual population growth will lessen
in the coming decade, the decrease will be incremental and there will still be an immense
percentage of the younger population.
According to Nielsen (2015), 37.4% of the ASEAN population lives in the rural areas. "The
Age of ASEAN Cities: From Migrant Consumers to Megacities," which examines the influences
that will shape development in the ASEAN region in the coming decade, identifies increasing
business activity, cross-border trading and demographic shifts as some of the key forces driving
population growth in smaller cities, emerging towns and rural areas which are the sleeping giants
of the next decade. Furthermore, Nielsen found out that by 2025, the population of the rural area
will grow up to 80% as the smaller cities now will be part of the biggest in the future that is why
there is a need to capitalize on this for development.
In the Philippines with its almost 100 million population, as of 2014, 55.5 % consists of the
ones in the rural areas (Trading Economics, 2015). The annual growth of population in the rural
areas is 1.9% which is greater than the 1.76% of the Philippines. The growing population in the
rural areas didnt equate to more number of opportunities and services for the people. As more
people share the same resources, everyone is affected and more people are not able to attain the
standard of living. The fastest growing rural region in the country is the Autonomous Region of
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with 2.89%. Some of the poorest provinces in the country such as
Lanao Del Sur is in ARMM. The rampancy of poverty incidence in rural areas is getting more and
more prevalent in the rise of population especially without the same proportional increase in
resources.
Poverty is commonly views as a product of population growth. This is understandable as the
common notion is more people will share in the same amount of resources. However, interestingly,
there have been studies made that shows that poverty is the cause of population growth and not its

end. Rapid population growth occurs in places where adequate health care, land, education, jobs
and social security are not available to most people. Studies can also attest that when a countrys
standard of living rises, the birth rate declines. Therefore communities should be made sure
sustainable enough for the population it caters. Sustainable development in communities and cities
that includes resources management, access to services, urban planning and public transport should
be prioritized so that each individual will be able to live in the standards that is at least fitting for
them.
Materials and Methods
The study