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Primary, Secondary and
Tertiary Sector
Businesses can be classified into three
sectors:
Primary sector: this involves the
use/extraction of natural resources.
Examples include agricultural
activities, mining, fishing, wood-
cutting, oil drilling etc.
Secondary sector: this involves the
manufacture of goods using the
resources from the primary sector.
Examples include auto-mobile
manufacturing, steel industries, cloth
production etc.
Tertiary sector: this consist of all the
services provided in an economy. This
includes hotels, travel agencies, hair
salons, banks etc.Up until the mid 18th century, the
primary sector was the largest sector
in the world, as agriculture was the
main profession. After the industrial
revolution, more countries began to
become more industrialized and
urban, leading to a rapid increase in
the manufacturing sector
(industrialization).
Nowadays, as countries are becoming
more developed, the importance of
tertiary sector is increasing, while the
primary sector is diminishing. The
secondary sector is also slightly
reducing in size (de-industrialization)
compared to the growth of the tertiary
sector . This is due to the growing
incomes of consumers which raises
their demand for more services like
travel, hotels etc.Private and Public Sector
Private sector: where private
individuals own and run business
ventures. Their aim is to make a profit,
and all costs and risks of the business
is undertaken by the individual.
Examples, Nike, McDonald's, Virgin
Airlines etc.
Public sector: where the government
owns and runs business ventures.
Their aim is to provide essential public
goods and services (schools, hospitals,
police etc.) in order to increase the
welfare of their citizens, they don’t
work to earn a profit. It is funded by
the taxpaying citizens’ money, so they
work in the interest of these citizens to
provide them with services.