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[lower-alpha 1] 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[edit | edit source]
| Economy | Countries by agricultural output (in PPP terms) at peak level as of 2018 (billions in USD)
|
|---|---|
(01)  China
|
2,101
|
(02)  India
|
1,400
|
(03)  Indonesia
|
486
|
(—)  European Union
|
352
|
(04)  Pakistan
|
284
|
(05)  Nigeria
|
253
|
(06)  Brazil
|
209
|
(07)  Russia
|
196
|
(08)  United States
|
185
|
(09)  Iran
|
162
|
(10)  Turkey
|
155
|
(11)  Egypt
|
154
|
(12)  Thailand
|
109
|
(13)  Vietnam
|
108
|
(14)  Bangladesh
|
108
|
(15)  Argentina
|
101
|
(16)  Mexico
|
100
|
(17)  Philippines
|
92
|
(18)  Myanmar
|
89
|
(19)  Algeria
|
87
|
(20)  Malaysia
|
84
|
|
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[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Often using non-powered equipment, sometimes even hand-picking and hand-planting
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Chand, S. N. (2006). Dictionary of economics. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 268. ISBN 81-269-0535-2. OCLC 297507928.
- ↑ Template:Cite CD.com
- ↑ 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[edit | edit source]
- 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