ECONOMIC ECONOMIC ACTIVITYACTIVITY

Economic Activity - Key Ideas

1. Activities contributing to the economy of a country are divided into 3 sectors:

Extractive Manufacturing

Services

PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY

2. Data usually shows the % of a country’s workforce that is employed in each of the sectors. This is known as the EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE of a country

3. Employment structure data is often used as a development indicator because it shows clear differences between MEDCs and LEDCs

“Typical” LEDC = ?? Dominated by primary employment

eg Burkina Faso P = 87% S = 5% T = 8%

“Typical” MEDC = ?? Mainly tertiary employment

eg France P = 5% S = 20% T = 75%

4. As countries develop, their employment structures change

eg Egypt in 1900 P = 71% S = 10% T = 19%

Egypt in 2000 P = 42% S = 21% T = 37%

5. LEDCs developing today do not necessarily follow the same route through the sectors as current MEDCs did when they developed

Eg the ‘Asian Tiger’ NICs* of the Pacific Rim

* = ? Newly Industrialised Countries (eg South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia etc)

Secondary sector often less significant in employment terms, but wrong to say that there is no mnfg~ in NICs

Reasons? Technological innovation, expansion of world trade

6. Sectoral change leaves problems in its wake

eg the decline of coal mining in the UKeg deindustrialisation in MEDCs (manufacturing decline)

eg the role of multinational corporations in LEDCs

Displaying The Data

% P

rimar

y

% S

econdary

% Tertiary

A brilliant device – the triangular graph – is used

How Do You Read These Graphs?

How Do You Read These Graphs?

Prim

ary

%

How Do You Read These Graphs?

Prim

ary

%

Secondary %

How Do You Read These Graphs?

Prim

ary

%

Secondary %

Tertiary %

% P

rimar

y

% S

econdary

% Tertiary

Now Put Your Finger On It!

Point to P 20 S 30 T 50

% P

rimar

y

% S

econdary

% Tertiary

Now Put Your Finger On It!

Oh Yes!

% P

rimar

y

% S

econdary

% Tertiary

Now Put Your Finger On It!

Now try P 10 S 70 T 20

% P

rimar

y

% S

econdary

% Tertiary

Now Put Your Finger On It!

Now try P 10 S 70 T 20

Yes Indeed!

% P

rimar

y

% S

econdary

% Tertiary

Now Put Your Finger On It!

One more… P 60 S 0 T 40

% P

rimar

y

% S

econdary

% Tertiary

Now Put Your Finger On It!

Holy Cow, Batman! It’s right!