1.3.1

Sectors

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The 3 Sectors

There are 3 main sectors in the economy:

Illustrative background for Primary sectorIllustrative background for Primary sector ?? "content

Primary sector

  • The primary sector produces raw materials. These are natural resources that can be used to make products or provide services.
  • Natural resources can be:
    • Extracted from the ground like oil, coal and gas
    • Collected like trees in the forestry industry
    • Grown like crops in the farming/agriculture industry
Illustrative background for Secondary sectorIllustrative background for Secondary sector ?? "content

Secondary sector

  • The secondary sector manufactures goods
  • This is the next stage of the supply chain.
  • Businesses in this sector turn raw materials into finished goods.
    • E.g. A paper manufacturer makes paper out of wood collected by the forestry/logging industry.
Illustrative background for Tertiary sectorIllustrative background for Tertiary sector ?? "content

Tertiary sector

  • As discussed previously these services can take a wide variety of forms and can exist to serve customers, businesses or a combination of both.
    • A simple example is the healthcare industry, which provides a wide range of healthcare services to people.
    • Another example is Facebook, which provides a social media service to customers while also providing an advertising service to businesses.

Jump to other topics

1Business Activity & Influences on Business

2People in Business

3Business Finance

4Marketing

5Business Operations

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