Spring 2019. Vol 10. Num 1 50 * Corresponding Author: Hassanali Faraji Sabokbar, PhD Address: University of Tehran, Faculty of Geography, Department of Human Geography Tel: +98 (912) 5359217 E-mail: hafaraji@ut.ac.ir Research Paper Evaluatng the Aging Index in Rural Areas of Iran through Knowledge-based Systems 1. Associate Professor of Human Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. 2. PhD Student of Environmental Permeaton Planning, Department of Geography, Faculty of Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. 3. PhD Student of Environmental Permeaton Planning, Department of Geography, Azad University of Rasht, Rasht, Iran. 4. Master in Human geography, Geography and Rural Planing Department, Golestan University, Gorgan, Iran. * Hassanali Faraji Sabokbar 1 , Habib Mahmoodi Chenari 2 , Ali Yousef 3 , Mehdi Khodadad 4 Research in scientfc felds is mainly a qualitatve issue which requires a level of qualitatve analysis and involves the discovery of the relatonships among research variables. One of the most important issues in the discussion of human topics is demography and, in partcular, the recogniton of demographic fea- tures. In this regard, this study seeks to examine the state of aging in Iranian rural communites in 390 countes of the country by using fuzzy logic. The research is a descriptve-analytc type and applied in terms of purpose. It was carried out through secondary analyses. The required data were derived from the Statstcs Center of Iran and covered six indicators including the rato of aging and youth, the rato of genders, the rato of old age, potental support and parental support. The results showed that, according to the designed database, the rural areas in the margins of Iran have a low rate of aging due to desirable conditons in the six indicators. In contrast, the rural areas in the internal parts of Iran are severely aged and are moving toward aging rapidly. The results of this study were also compared with the ethnicity map of Iran. It was indicated that the fndings of this study about the aging process strongly overlap the informaton on the ethnicity map. Due to the broad ethnic distributon in the geographical boundaries of Iran, the, the desire to have children is higher than that in the central parts of the country. This has led to an increase in the desirable values of the six indicators in the marginal areas and the superiority of those areas over the internal parts. A B S T R A C T Key words: Rural populaton, Aging, Rural setle- ments, Knowledge- based systems Received: 16 Mar 2018 Accepted: 05 Feb 2019 Extended Abstract 1. Introduction s the life expectancy index increases, the aging of the population rises too. An overview of the data about the elderly shows that the world's elderly popula- tion growth is such that, in the coming years, especially in developing countries, there will be a problem called the "aged population explosion". What can affect the geography of the Iranian population as a threat is the aging of rural areas in the country. According to the statistics released by the Statistics Center of Iran, aging in rural areas is in poor conditions. Given the aging issue and the specifc sensitivity to this issue, its careful and logical study can be very effective in reducing its so- cial and economic impacts on the environment. Using- fuzzy logic and knowledge systems, this research seeks to evaluate the geography of the rural population of the A Citation: Faraji Sabokbar, H., A., Mahmoodi Chenari, H., Yousef, A., & Khodadad, M., (2019).[Evaluating the Aging Index in Rural Areas of Iran through Knowledge-based Systems (Persian)]. Journal of Rural Research, 10(1),50-63, http://dx.doi.org/ 10.22059/jrur.2019.254662.1235 : http://dx.doi.org/ 10.22059/jrur.2019.254662.1235 Use your device to scan and read the artcle online