Abstract:  Based on the panel data of counties（cities） in Guangdong Province from 2018 to 2022, 17 evalution indicators that reflect regional economic development disparities were selected. Using Principal Component Analysis （PCA） and Geographic Information System （GIS） methods, this study evaluated the spatial and temporal patterns of economic development across these counties. The results show that the economic development levels of the 57 counties exhibit a "pyramid-shaped" distribution, characterized by a small number of top-performing regions, a moderate number of mid-level regions, and a large proportion of lower-tier regions. The findings indicate that while Guangdong's county-level economies demonstrate strong synergistic development, the trend of uneven economic growth continues to expand. Based on the clustering analysis results, corresponding countermeasures and recommendations are proposed. 

Key words:  Guangdong Province, county economy, development differences, PCA, GIS