A Comparison of Iran's Rural Areas Based on Human Development Indices during 1996-2006

Rural development has been the main focal point of state policy, strategy and plan in post revolutionary era. Thus, the examination of different dimensions of human development is particularly important in rural areas. This study examines human development situation during 1996-2006 in rural areas of Iran. The study applies numerical taxonomy of 14 indicators related to education, economy and health sectors. The data is extracted from census and official documents. The results indicate significant inequalities between the rural areas of different provinces; and despite relative improvement in human development conditions during the ten years under study, significant changes cannot be observed in the rankings of the studied areas. Tehran and Isfahan provinces are ranked as the highest; and Sistan-va-Baluchetan, Kordestan, and West Azerbayjan are known as the most deprived rural areas with respect to the studied indicators.