1.2. Economic sectors
- Syllabus
- 0264–2027–2028
- Topic
- 1.2
- Level
- —
Learning objectives
Classify businesses by activity and ownership
A business can be classified in two different ways: by the type of activity it performs and by who owns or controls it. These classifications answer different questions.
| Activity sector | Main business activity | Generic example |
|---|---|---|
| primary | extracts, harvests or collects natural resources to produce raw materials | a farm extracting crops |
| secondary | processes raw materials or components into manufactured goods | a factory turning timber into furniture |
| tertiary | provides services to consumers or other businesses | transport, retailing or banking |
| Ownership sector | Who owns or controls it? | Typical purpose and finance |
|---|---|---|
| private | individuals or privately owned organisations, not the government | usually seeks profit; finance is arranged privately |
| public | the state or government | provides state-controlled goods or services and uses public finance |
The two axes can overlap. For example, a transport provider is tertiary because it supplies a service; it could be private if owned by investors or public if owned by government.
Do not treat 'public sector' as a service category or 'tertiary sector' as an ownership type. One describes ownership; the other describes activity.