What are the Economic Sectors? (College Board AP® Human Geography)

The Economic Sectors

• Economic sectors are classified as:

  • primary

  • secondary

  • tertiary

  • quaternary

  • quinary

Primary activities

• Primary activities are extractive. In other words, they extract minerals and raw materials from the earth

  • Examples of primary activities are:

    • mining

    • fishing

    • lumber (or forestry)

    • agriculture 

Secondary activities

• Secondary activities are industrial and involve the processing and manufacturing of raw materials from the primary sector into usable products

  • Examples of secondary activities are:

    • manufacturing

    • construction

    • utilities 

Tertiary activities

• Tertiary activities are the services provided using manufactured products

  • Examples of tertiary activities are:

    • retail stores

    • tourism

    • entertainment  

Quaternary activities

• Quaternary activities involve the processing of information

  • Examples of quaternary activities are:

    • finance

    • insurance

    • real estate

Quinary activities

• Quinary activities involve decision-makers, such as:

  • Executives

  • CEOs

  • those who serve in government roles

Development Patterns of the Economic Sectors

• Patterns of economic activity by development:

  • Less developed countries (LDCs) are characterized by primary and secondary economic activities

  • More developed countries (MDCs) are characterized by tertiary, quaternary, and quinary activities

• Economic activity is geographically distributed and overlaps with other course concepts including:

• levels of development

  1. the core-periphery model

  2. the demographic transition model

Levels of development

• The types of economic activity practiced in an area are correlated to the level of economic development in that area

  • Primary economic activities such as agriculture, fishing, and mining, are more common in less developed areas

    • These areas export raw materials and import finished goods

  • Economic activities in the tertiary, quaternary, and quinary sectors tend to take place in highly-developed countries, such as the United States and Canada

    • These countries import raw materials and produce goods and focus on the service and technology sectors

The core-periphery model

• The core-periphery model attempts to explain why economic power and development are unevenly distributed across the world

  • In this model, core regions, such as the United States and Great Britain, experience high levels of economic development

    • They participate in the tertiary, quaternary, and quinary economic sectors

  • Less developed countries, such as Angola or Bangladesh, have lower levels of economic development and are reliant on imported goods.

    • These countries participate in primary or secondary sector economic activities

Demographic Transition Model (DTM)

• The DTM shows how birth and death rates and population growth change between pre-industrial, industrial, and post-industrial societies

  • A society in the early stages of economic development will have higher birth and death rates and be categorized in stage 2 of the DTM

  • A country in the later stages of economic development will have low birth and death rates and be categorized in stage 4 or 5 of the DTM

• Primary activities are most associated with Less developed countries (LDCs) in the global periphery

  • Africa

  • South America

• These countries are more rural, have lower gross national product (GNP), and are often in stage 2 of the DTM

• Secondary activities are associated with countries which are quickly industrializing

  • Asia

  • parts of Central America

• These countries tend to be in stage 3 of the DTM. The exception to this is China, which is in stage 4, largely as a result of its previous one-child policy

• Tertiary, quaternary, and quinary activities are associated with MDCs in the global core

  • North America

  • Europe

  • parts of Oceania

• These countries are: 

  • more urban

  • have a high gross national product (GNP)

  • have low birth and death rates

  • experience high levels of literacy

  • are at Stage 4 or 5 of the Demographic Transition Model

Image: Global Pattern of Economic Development
Image 2 showing the separation of the Global North and South

• The spatial patterns of today’s globalized economy are shaped by labor costs and innovations in transportation

• Companies often seek out locations for their factories which have lower labor costs to maximize profits.

  • As a result, manufacturing for many companies has moved to locations with lower-cost labor, such as South and Southeast Asia

• Innovations in transportation drive down costs so that products can be made far from the consumer and then shipped

  • Raw materials can be extracted, and manufactured goods produced, overseas and then shipped anywhere

  • This contributes to globalization and results in decreased shipping costs and time

• Resource extraction and labor (primary and secondary economic activities) are primarily done in LDCs

• Tertiary, quaternary, and quinary activities are primarily done in richer MDCs