Evaluation of the degree of development of Golestan province during the fourth to sixth development plans

Development programs in Iran are designed to increase development. But it is necessary to conduct studies to monitor and evaluate the degree of realization of the program's goals. In this study, by using the factor analysis method, the level of development of Golestan province during the fourth to sixth development plans has been evaluated and measured. In order to investigate this issue, three categories of indicators were used: a. Macroeconomic development b. Social and cultural development c. Infrastructural development and prosperity. For each of these indicators, the relative and absolute development of the province was calculated. The results show that from the fourth plan to the sixth plan, the absolute development of Golestan province is 1.58 percent weaker and the relative development of Golestan province is 3.4 percent less compared to the whole country. In other words, firstly, Golestan province has decreased by 1.58% in terms of the development index compared to its conditions at the beginning of the program, secondly, this development decrease was 3.4% more than the average of the whole country.. Therefore, during the 7th development plan, the planners of Golestan province need to design methods to compensate for this backwardness in the previous plans.