Economic activities

What are economic activities?

Economic activities are those processes that take place in the obtaining or distribution of a product or service.

These aim meet the needs of society from the use of natural resources and generate an economic benefit for producing companies.

Types of economic activities

The economic activities that exist are directly related to the different stages of a production process.

Primary activities

They are those that are in the first phase of the production process. Activities such as agriculture, livestock, fishing, among others, correspond to the primary sector. That is, they are all those from which the raw material for the production of goods and services is obtained.

Secondary activities

Are those activities that transform the raw materials generated in the previous stage, in available products for sale.

Examples of the secondary sector are the footwear industry, chemicals, textiles and food.

Tertiary activities

Also known as the service sector, these activities are those that produce only services or that distribute and market the goods produced by primary and secondary activities.

For example, supermarkets, restaurants, public services, administration, finance or tourism are tertiary activities.

Quaternary activities

Are those related to knowledge applied to research and development of new technologies. The resulting benefits can be applied to all economic activities. Sometimes they are often considered part of the tertiary sector.

Examples of the quaternary sector are robotics, computer science and microelectronics.

Quinary activities

These activities include non-profit services, such as education, health or culture. Likewise, the quinary sector includes domestic activities, such as those carried out by housewives.