Page 23 - U4SSC Factsheet, Mashhad, Iran (Islamic Republic of), September 2021

Category: Innovation and Employment

Performance to
Category KPI Result SDG
Benchmark
R&D expenditure Not
(relative to GDP) Reported

Patents 0.59
(per 100 000 inhabitants)
Small and Medium-Sized 98.05 %
Enterprises (SMEs)

Unemployment Rate 12.00 %

Youth Unemployment 16.60 %
Rate

Tourism Sector 0.29 % 1
Employment

ICT Sector Employment 0.33 % 2

This category highlights a few areas which need to be further advanced on to enable Mashhad to
succeed in their smart city endeavour. Addressing the current level of unemployment should be
a priority for the city.

Since tourism is a major engine of the economy in Mashhad, an effort to collect the data for private
sector tourism sector employment should also be viewed as a matter of importance.

Around Mashhad, there is a science park and a technology park and eleven incubators to support
5
innovative companies and start-ups by providing businesses based in the parks with benefits. The
benefits to companies within the parks include tax exemption, annual performance exemption,
exemption of duty payments and export duties, protection of commercial interests, and the easing
of foreign exchange transactions. An effort to collect the data on the size of the private sector ICT
6
labour force should, therefore, also be a high priority.

A better understanding of the actual private market employment within the tourism and ICT sectors
can provide city leaders with the data to measure the impact of smart, sustainable city policies and
programmes that are targeted at these sectors, and benefit the city.

U4SCC Factsheet | Mashhad, Iran (Islamic Republic of) | September 2021 17