What are Economic Activities? Classification of Economic Activities

What are Economic Activities? Meaning

People working in the primary sector extract resources directly from Earth. People working in the secondary sector convert raw materials into finished goods. All other jobs are included in the tertiary sector. Tertiary sector includes many jobs. All this activties is know as Economic activities.

Classification of Economic Activities

Economic activities of man are generally classified into three sectors: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary.

Image credits © Manoj Patil.

Economic activities are classified below:

1. Primary Sector
2. Secondary Sector
3. Tertiary Sector

Now let's discuss classification of economic activities.

1. Primary Sector

Primary sector the maximum number of people in developing and backward countries are engaged in primary activities. Workers in the primary sector extract resources directly from Earth. Agriculture is the most primary activity of man. Other primary activities are mining, fishing, lumbering, gathering, hunting, etc.

2. Secondary Sector

Secondary sector the Workers convert raw materials produced in the primary sector into manufactured goods and commodities. Development of Secondary sector depends on the development of the primary sector. People working in manufacturing industry, furniture industry and construction industry are included in this sector.

3. Tertiary Sector Sector

Tertiary activities are also called as the service sector. In the developed country's large number of people are engaged in the tertiary sector. It includes a variety of jobs ranging from clerks, officers, doctors, teachers, engineers, artists, banking, insurance, transport, etc. As this sector includes many occupations, some scholars have tried to split it into tertiary sector services and quaternary sector called information sector. As economy grows there is a shift of people from primary to secondary and to the tertiary sector.

What is Sectoral Evolution

After shifting from primary actives to secondary and then to tertian is known as Sectoral Evolution. Before Industrial Revolution, many people of the world were engaged in agriculture. This period is known as a pre-industrial period. Even today in countries like Africa, Asia's people are engaged in primary activities. In past few hundred years, countries in Europe and America developed manufacturing industries. Many people found jobs in factories, so labour force engaged in the primary sector started declining. With the spread of education, trade, banking, insurance, transport, there was a shift of people from secondary to the tertiary sector.

Today in many countries the numbers of people are engaged in the tertiary sector is increasing. Even in developing countries like India slowly people are changing their jobs from primary to secondary and then to the tertiary sector.