Location of Economic Sectors (Edexcel IGCSE Geography)

Factors influencing the location of economic sectors

• Every type of economic activity has a particular location

• The location is affected by both physical and human factors

• These factors relate to the needs of the economic activity

• Physical factors include:

  • Raw materials: industries require raw materials to produce goods

  • Land: how much land costs and how much is available  

  • Energy: where the industries get their power supply from

  • Climate: some industries benefit from particular climates

• Human factors include:

  • Capital: the money that is available to set up and run the economic activity

  • Transport and communications—accessibility by road, air and rail is important to many industries

  • Market: how close the industries are to the market

  • Labour: all industries need workers

  • Government policy: tax incentives, cheaper rent

Factors affecting primary activity location

• Primary economic activities include agriculture, mining, forestry and fishing

  • Distance from the market and cost of transport are particularly important for mining due to the bulky products 

  • Climate would be more important for agriculture 

• Climate - precipitation, sunshine hours and temperature all affect the type of crops grown or livestock

• Land - The amount of land available, cost, soil type and resources (coal, gold)

• Market - Some crops need to be very close to the market, such as soft fruits (strawberries)

• Government policies - Whether subsidies are available

• Labour - In developed countries, there are few workers needed due to mechanisation

• Transport - Access to roads to transport crops, animals, quarried/mined materials, timber

Factors affecting secondary activity location

• Secondary economic activities involve car manufacturing, food processing, and shipbuilding.

• The importance of the location factors depends on:

  • The weight of raw materials and the finished product as heavier, bulky products cost more to transport

  • The size of the factory required for car manufacture needs much more space than food processing or clothing production

• Raw materials - How close the activity needs to be to raw materials and the types of raw materials will depend on the industry

  • Industries needing heavy or bulky raw materials will be located near the raw materials

• Land - Large areas of land are often required for factories, so the cost and amount of the land are important

• Water - a nearby water supply may be needed for industrial processes

• Market - Access to the market is important to be able to sell the goods made

• Government policies - Tax incentives, grants, and loans may be available if the economic activity is located in a particular area

• Energy - A power source is needed; this used to be coal or water

  • During the Industrial Revolution, this meant that factories were located near coal fields

  • Energy is now provided by electricity, which can be accessed in many areas

  • In developing/emerging countries where energy infrastructure is poorer, factories are located near energy sources

• Labour - Mechanisation means that not as many workers are required

• Transport - Access to roads is essential to bring in raw materials and send out the product

  • Factories may also be located near to ports

Factors affecting tertiary activity location

• Tertiary economic activities involve providing a service such as healthcare or retail. The most important factor for location is usually:

  • Proximity to the customers 

• Land - The amount of land depends on the type of economic activity; large retail parks need lots of land 

• Market - Needs to be close to the customers or service users

• Energy - A power source is needed—electricity, which can be accessed in many areas

• Labour - Workers needed both skilled and unskilled

• Transport - It needs to be accessible for customers, workers and in the case of retail, to bring in the products

Factors affecting quaternary activity location

• Quaternary economic activities involve high technology, such as research and development. The most important factors in their location:

  • Proximity to skilled workers and universities 

  • Pleasant working environment

• Land -Science parks need large areas of land, usually near a university on the rural-urban fringe

• Energy - A power source is needed—electricity, which can be accessed in many areas

• Labour - Skilled labour is needed, often university graduates

• Transport - Needs to be accessible to the workers

Changing location of economic activities

• The location of economic activities does not stay the same but changes over time

Primary activities

• The location of primary activities may be affected by several factors:

  • Drought, soil erosion, flooding and other events may lead to decreased growth of crops/raising of livestock

  • Raw materials may run out in an area or become economically unviable 

  • Climate change may affect the types of crops which can be grown 

Secondary activities

• The location of manufacturing activities or secondary economic activities has changed significantly:

  • Transport is faster and cheaper, which means products can be moved around the world 

  • An increase in transnational corporations (TNCs) with factories and offices in many countries

  • Factories were once tied to a power source of coal supplies or water

    • Electricity is now available almost anywhere

  • The internet means instant communication with factories and offices around the world is possible

  • Government policies in emerging and developing countries are aimed at attracting manufacturing, often using tax incentives

  • Cheaper labour, less strict health and safety, cheaper land and more workers are all available in developing and emerging countries

    • These reduce costs and increase profits

  • Raw materials may no longer be available in the area 

• These changes have led to a reduction in secondary economic activities in developed countries such as the UK

  • This is known as deindustrialization

Tertiary activities

• The location of tertiary and quaternary economic activities is increasingly located in rural (greenfield) areas on the rural-urban fringe due to several factors:

  • There is more open space for expansion and car parking

  • Land is cheaper

  • More accessible 

  • Located near the suburbs and commuter village, good access for workers and customers

  • Increase in science parks, business parks and retail parks where similar businesses are located together

• This process is known as decentralisation

Quaternary activities

• The location of quaternary activities is often on the rural-urban fringe on greenfield sites, near universities or other quaternary businesses

• The activities are often focused on regions as a result of government investment in a particular area

• Improvements in infrastructure, particularly communication make areas attractive to quaternary activities