The Spatial Analysis of Deprivation and Inequalities of Development in Sub-provinces of Iran

Assessment of the level of development of regional units in a country is crucial issue for regional planning and development policy and it is a key criterion for allocation of various structural funds and national subsidies. For determining the degree of development and ranking of regions، it is necessary to consider numerous economic، social، infrastructural factors. In this way، the application of MCDM can integrate the various indicators into an uniform evaluation procedure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the development level of sub-provinces in Iran using MCDM methods، and consequently to identify the inequities all over the country. A system of 54 indicators of different dimensions of development is developed. The weight of indicators and the level of development of sub-provinces are determined by LINMAP method and by using Matlab software. Then، all sub-provinces were classified into 5 groups in respect of development level. Results have shown that Iran is suffering uneven development across different regions، so that from all 336 sub-provinces 77 ones are in the group of backward and relatively backward sub-provinces. It is also revealed that highly backward counties are located in the southeast of Iran. Therefore، extraordinary focus ought to be on this region to improve development level in both qualitative and quantitative aspects.