What is a sector in economics?

A sector is an area of the economy in which businesses share the same or related business activity, product, or service. Sectors represent a large grouping of companies with similar business activities, such as the extraction of natural resources and agriculture.

What is the primary sector of the economy?

The primary sector of the economy extracts or harvests products from the earth such as raw materials and basic foods. Activities associated with primary economic activity include agriculture (both subsistence and commercial), mining, forestry, grazing, hunting and gathering, fishing, and quarrying.

What is a three-sector economy?

According to the three-sector theory, all economic activity can be classified into one of three sectors: the primary sector, the secondary sector, and the tertiary sector. As a rule of thumb, we say the more advanced an economy is, the more its focus shifts from the primary, through the secondary to the tertiary sector.