Economic activities: primary, secondary and tertiary sectors — 11–13
The three sectors of activity in Portugal and where they are concentrated in the territory.
Three sectors
Economic activities are divided into three sectors. The primary sector takes products directly from nature: farming, fishing, forestry and mining. The secondary sector transforms raw materials: industry, construction and energy. The tertiary sector provides services: commerce, health, education, transport and tourism. In Portugal the tertiary sector employs the most people: about seven in ten.
Why activities are where they are
Each activity looks for the place that suits it. Farming needs land and climate: vines in the Douro, cereals and cork oaks in the Alentejo. Fishing needs a port: Matosinhos, Peniche, Olhão. Industry needs workers, energy and a way to ship goods: that is why it is concentrated on the north and central coast. Services go where there are more people: cities and tourist areas.
A case: which sector is this job in?
Step 1: ask “does this activity take something directly from nature?” — if so it is primary (a fisher, a farmer). Step 2: if not, ask “does it turn raw materials into products?” — if so it is secondary (a worker in a shoe factory). Step 3: if not, ask “does it provide a service?” — then it is tertiary (a teacher, a bus driver). Step 4: check against the definition of the sector.
The trap: confusing the product with the activity
A bakery makes bread, which is secondary, but the shop that sells it is doing commerce, which is tertiary — and the wheat came from a farmer, which is primary. A single chain passes through all three sectors. So we classify not by the “place” or the final product, but by what the activity does: extract, transform or provide a service.
Where you see this today
You can see all three sectors in one country: the Douro vineyards, the port of Sines, the car factory in Palmela and Algarve tourism. If you look at the jobs of the adults around you, you'll notice that most work in services — and a good exercise is to find out which sector each one belongs to.
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