Primary sector of the economy

The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.[1][2][3]

Economic sectors
Three-sector model
Primary sector (raw materials)
Secondary sector (manufacturing)
Tertiary sector (services)
Additional sectors
Quaternary sector (information services)
Quinary sector (human services)
Theorists
AGB Fisher · Colin Clark · Jean Fourastié
Sectors by ownership
Business sector · Private sector · Public sector · Voluntary sector

The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in developing countries than it does in developed countries. For example, in 2018, agriculture, forestry, and fishing comprised more than 15% of GDP in sub-Saharan Africa[4] but less than 1% of GDP in North America.[5]

In developed countries the primary sector has become more technologically advanced, enabling for example the mechanization of farming, as compared with lower-tech methods[lower-alpha 1] in poorer countries.[6] More developed economies may invest additional capital in primary means of production: for example, in the United States corn belt, combine harvesters pick the corn, and sprayers spray large amounts of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, producing a higher yield than is possible using less capital-intensive techniques. These technological advances and investment allow the primary sector to employ a smaller workforce, so developed countries tend to have a smaller percentage of their workforce involved in primary activities, instead having a higher percentage involved in the secondary and tertiary sectors.[7]

List of countries by agricultural output
Largest countries by agricultural output (in PPP terms) according to the IMF and CIA World Factbook, at peak level as of 2018
Economy
Countries by agricultural output (in PPP terms) at peak level as of 2018 (billions in USD)
(01)  China
2,101
(02)  India
1,602
(03)  Indonesia
486
(—)  European Union
352
(04)  Pakistan
284
(05)  Nigeria
253
(06)  Brazil
209
(07)  Russia
196
(08)  United States
185
(09)  Iran
162
(10)  Turkey
155
(11)  Egypt
154
(12)  Thailand
109
(13)  Vietnam
108
(14)  Bangladesh
108
(15)  Argentina
101
(16)  Mexico
100
(17)  Philippines
92
(18)  Myanmar
89
(19)  Algeria
87
(20)  Malaysia
84

The twenty largest countries by agricultural output (in PPP terms) at peak level as of 2018, according to the IMF and CIA World Factbook.

See also
  • Resource curse
  • Three-sector model

References
  1. Chand, S. N. (2006). Dictionary of economics. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 268. ISBN 81-269-0535-2. OCLC 297507928.
  2. "primary producer". CollinsDictionary.com. HarperCollins. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  3. Kjeldsen-Kragh, Søren (2007). The Role of Agriculture in Economic Development: The Lessons of History. Copenhagen Business School Press DK. p. 73. ISBN 978-87-630-0194-6.
  4. "Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) | Sub-Saharan Africa". World Bank Open Data. 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  5. "Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) | North America". World Bank Open Data. 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  6. "Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) - Data". data.worldbank.org.
  7. H Dwight H. Perkins: Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, Vol. 31, No. 1, China's Developmental Experience (March 1973)
  1. Often using non-powered equipment, sometimes even hand-picking and hand-planting

Further reading
  • Dwight H. Perkins: Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, Vol. 31, No. 1, China's Developmental Experience (Mar., 1973)
  • Cameron: General Economic and Social History
  • Historia Económica y Social General, by Maria Inés Barbero, Rubén L. Berenblum, Fernando R. García Molina, Jorge Saborido
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