Understanding the Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sectors

PRIMARY SECTOR

PRIMARY SECTOR

The primary sector involves activities related to obtaining natural resources for manufacturing or food:

• Agriculture involves farming the land to produce raw materials, such as cereals, cotton, and fruit.
• Livestock farming involves raising animals for food and for raw materials, such as leather and wool.
• Forestry consists of exploiting the wood from trees in forests and plantations, along with other raw materials, such as resin, cork, and rubber.
• Fishing involves catching or farming fish, molluscs, and crustaceans.

SECONDARY SECTOR

SECONDARY SECTOR

The secondary sector involves manufacturing raw materials and producing capital goods:

• Mining consists of removing rocks and minerals from the subsoil. Although this activity involves obtaining raw materials, it is usually classified in the secondary sector.
• Industrial activities which manufacture raw materials.
• Construction of buildings (homes, factories, offices, etc.) and infrastructure (roads, ports, airports, etc.).
• Energy production consists of extracting energy from natural resources. It also involves activities related to the manufacture of energy, which has to be transformed from one form to another.

TERTIARY SECTOR

TERTIARY SECTOR

The tertiary or service sector includes all the activities that produce intangible goods and services. In other words, this sector does not create or manufacture materials. It is divided into a large number of subsectors, including the following:

• Commerce involves distributing and selling the products from the primary and secondary sectors.
• Tourism relates to the temporary movement of people from one place to another.
• Transport and communications relate to the movement of people and goods, and to communicating information.
• Services include anything from essential services, such as healthcare and education, to activities such as advertising and legal services.