1.2.1—Economic sectors

The primary sector extracts or harvests natural resources; the secondary sector processes materials into manufactured goods; the tertiary sector provides services. One business can span more than one sector.

Sector labels help analyse an activity’s inputs and outputs, but they do not by themselves measure development, profitability or job quality.

A cocoa company may buy beans from primary producers, process chocolate in a factory and sell through retail and delivery services in the tertiary sector.

Calling a firm “service-sector” does not mean it has no physical inputs or production processes.