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
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Davneet Singh

Davneet Singh has done his B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. He has been teaching from the past 14 years. He provides courses for Maths, Science and Computer Science at Teachoo