Primary sector
| Economic sectors | 
|---|
| Three-sector model | 
| Additional sectors | 
 
  |  
| Theorists | 
| Sectors by ownership | 
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]
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[a] 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
| Economy | Countries by agricultural output (in PPP terms) at peak level as of 2018 (billions in USD)   | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (01)  |  |||||||||
| (02)  |  |||||||||
| (03)  |  |||||||||
| (—)  |  |||||||||
| (04)  |  |||||||||
| (05)  |  |||||||||
| (06)  |  |||||||||
| (07)  |  |||||||||
| (08)  |  |||||||||
| (09)  |  |||||||||
| (10)  |  |||||||||
| (11)  |  |||||||||
| (12)  |  |||||||||
| (13)  |  |||||||||
| (14)  |  |||||||||
| (15)  |  |||||||||
| (16)  |  |||||||||
| (17)  |  |||||||||
| (18)  |  |||||||||
| (19)  |  |||||||||
| (20)  |  |||||||||
|   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
Notes
- ^ Often using non-powered equipment, sometimes even hand-picking and hand-planting
 
References
- ^ Chand, S. N. (2006). Dictionary of economics. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 268. ISBN 81-269-0535-2. OCLC 297507928.
 - ^ "primary producer". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
 - ^ 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.
 - ^ "Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) | Sub-Saharan Africa". World Bank Open Data. 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
 - ^ "Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) | North America". World Bank Open Data. 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
 - ^ "Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate) - Data". data.worldbank.org.
 - ^ H Dwight H. Perkins: Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, Vol. 31, No. 1, China's Developmental Experience (March 1973)
 
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
 
External links
 Media related to Primary sector at Wikimedia Commons- Economy101.net: The Nature of Wealth