Ranking of the Country's Provinces in Terms of Knowledge-Based Economy Indicators

The purpose of this article is to examine the both position and comparing provinces of the country in terms of knowledge-based economic indicators that can help in recognizing, evaluating and improving the situation of these provinces. 20 indicators of the knowledge-based economy have been used in the form of 5 components, for this purpose, to study the current situation. First, indicators were weighted by Shannon's entropy method, and then the provinces were divided into five components: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, education and human resources, institutional and economical regimes, research and development, and performance, as well as a set of all these components, were ranked by using the TOPSIS model. The results show that Tehran province is in the first rank with a big difference. After that, Isfahan, Qom and Alborz provinces are in the second to fourth ranks, respectively. Also, the three provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, North Khorasan and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad are in the last ranks. Considering the results obtained in calculating the factors and indicators of the knowledge-based economy, it is necessary to pay special attention to provincial planners and decision-makers and private sector managers in promoting knowledge-based economy and reducing inequalities and spatial imbalances.