Ranking and analysis of the level of development of Iran's provinces

Unbalanced distribution of facilities as well as the existence of inequalities among and within provinces have always been the concern of social and economic organizations and institutions. Measuring the level of development can help identify the between existing situations and shortcomings, and hence support managers and planners in planning for the future and choosing the best solutions.   

This study aims to rank and recognize deprivation in provinces based on economic, social and infrastructure indicators.

This research is a descriptive-analytical study that determine and rank the provinces through three stages. First, experts selected and determined the weight of indicators, and in the next step, using the Shannon entropy method, the degree of importance of the indicators was obtained. After determining the degree of importance in the TOPSIS model, the indicators have been ranked and then the deprivation has been ranked in the provinces.

Geographical Context: 

The scope of research in this study is all the provinces of the country.

The findings indicated that Tehran province, distinctly, ranks first in infrastructure and economic compared to other provinces. On the contrary, in the social index, the value has moved towards normal and most of the provinces are almost average.

The results of this study show that Tehran Province is the most prosperous province. The deprived provinces are mostly in the eastern or western border zones and the privileged provinces are located in the central regions of the country.