Measurement and Comparison of Level of Agricultural Development in Rural Areas of West Azerbaijan Province from 2001 to 2009

Different regions of a country generally have different levels of agricultural development. In fact، there is a kind of heterogeneity that makes the investigation of the agricultural development trends in provinces of the country undeniable. The present article aims to analyze the level of agricultural development and its imbalance in rural regions of West Azerbaijan for urban levels in 2000s. To meet this aim، 48 criteria of agricultural development were defined and measured using two methods namely factor analysis and numerical taxonomy analysis. The cities of the province ware ranked according to their agricultural level of development and the dual coefficient among them was calculated. The results of the study showed that agricultural level of development in the cities of West Azerbaijan in the mentioned period has declined; however، the dual coefficient showed homogenous development.