Sectors of Economic Activities
- Economic activities are those activities through which people can earn money to sustain their life.
- Example: people going to work in factories, offices, etc.
- In other words, activities that involve the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of products and services are referred to as economic activities.
- People are engaged in various types of economic activities to produce goods and services.
-
Economic activities
are
classified
into
three sectors.
- Primary Sector
- Secondary Sector
- Tertiary Sector
Primary Sector
- Activities that are undertaken by directly using natural resources come under the primary sector.
- Production of a good is done by exploiting natural resources , biological processes of animals, climatic factors etc.
- These are called primary activities because it forms a base for all other products that we subsequently make.
- Since most of the natural products we get are from agriculture, dairy, fishing, and forestry, this sector is also called agriculture and related sectors .
- Activities related to agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and animal husbandry are included in this sector.
Secondary Sector
- Activities that include transforming resources into different forms using production techniques that are typically associated with industrial activity come under the secondary sector.
- Activities related to manufacturing and construction are included in this sector.
- It is also referred to as the "industrial sector" because it grew to be associated with various emerging industries.
- For example - the mining of iron ore falls in the primary sector but the manufacturing of steel falls in the secondary sector.
Tertiary Sector
- Activities that help in the development of the primary and secondary sectors are comes under the tertiary sector .
- These activities , by themselves, do not produce a good but they are an aid or support for the production process . Such as transportation.
- For example, goods that are produced in the primary or secondary sector would need to be transported by trucks or trains and then sold in wholesale and retail shops .
- Since these activities generate services rather than goods, the tertiary sector is also called the service sector .
- Services related to transport, banking, insurance, warehousing, communication, advertising , etc are included in this sector .
- The service sector also includes some necessary services that may not directly contribute to the production of goods.
- For example - teachers, doctors , and those who provide personal services such as washermen, barbers, cobblers, lawyers, and people to do administrative and accounting work.
- New information technology-based services, such as internet cafes, ATM booths, call centers, software firms, and so on, have emerged in recent years are also categorized in tertiary sector
