Abstract: Sixteen cities in five regions of Shandong Province were selected as research areas, and an evaluation index system from four dimensions of digital rural infrastructure, digital rural development environment, rural digital application and agricultural digital production was constructed. The entropy weight-TOPSIS method, Kernel density estimation method, Dagum Gini coefficient and obstacle model were used to analyze the development level, spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, regional differences and influencing factors of digital countryside in Shandong Province respectively. The results showed that from 2015 to 2021,the development level of digital countryside in Shandong Province showed an increasing trend, but the polarization phenomenon appeared in the east of Shandong and the southwest of Shandong. The Gini coefficient of Shandong Province, eastern Shandong Province, central Shandong Province and southwest Shandong Province was showing an upward trend, and the overall gap was mainly due to regional differences, with the contribution rate of super variable density gradually decreasing. During the inspection period, the number of rural e-commerce bases, e-commerce purchases and sales, post and telecommunications business volume and local financial science and technology expenditures had become the main factors hindering the development of digital countryside in Shandong Province. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve the inter-regional development imbalance, and promote the high-level and balanced development of digital countryside in Shandong Province from the aspects of optimizing the development environment of digital countryside, promoting the development of rural digital application and strengthening inter-regional cooperation.

Key words: digital countryside, entropy weight-TOPSIS method, spatiotemporal evolution, regional differences, obstacle model, Shandong Province