Structure of the economy

• Primary sector

  • extraction of raw materials from the earth
  • can be directly sold to consumer but most would go onto other industries for further processing
• secondary sector

  • manufacturers of primary materials into finished products
  • could also work with the product of other manufacturers
• tertiary sector

  • a service sector that provides services to consumers and businesses
  • are market-oriented and require some form of interaction
• quaternary sector

  • advanced services that involves special knowledge, technical skills, communication ability or administrative competence
  • this sector often uses technology to provide information or expertise
  • this sector is also understood as providing information based-services
  • they also require skilled labour and depends on the access to such educational institutions
• quinary sector

  • further breakdown of quarternary sector, referring to the highest level of services in a knowledge economy, such as the government, healthcare and universities
  • also includes services that are non-profit