The tertiary sector in Europe and Spain

In Europe, 68 out of every 100 people work in this sector. In Spain, 74 out of every 100 people work

in the tertiary sector.

Trade

Trade is the buying and selling of products which are produced in the primary and secondary sectors.

There are two types of trade:

• Foreign trade is commerce with other countries.

       − Exports are products one country sells to other countries.

       − Imports are products one country buys from other countries.

• Domestic trade is commerce within a country.

European countries export chemicals, metal products, materials for vehicles, technological materials and agricultural products. They import petrol and raw materials.

Spain exports industrial products, food, shoes and cars. It imports mainly vehicles, fossil fuels such as

gas and petrol, pharmaceutical products and machinery.

Transport is one of the most important activities in the tertiary sector. It is needed to move people and to distribute products. Europe has the densest network of railways and roadways in the world. It also has major ports, such as Rotterdam and Hamburg, with a lot of commercial traffic.

In addition, Europe has one of the largest and most modern air transport networks in the world. The airports with the most traffic are in London, Paris and Frankfurt.

In Spain, better infrastructure has improved transport of people and products.

Tourism includes all the services for people who are on holiday. Tourist services offer everything tourists need, for example, hotels, travel agents, restaurants, etc.

Secondary sector in Europe and Spain

In Europe 27 out of every 100 people work in the secondary sector.
Europe is one of the most industrialized continents in the world. There are three main industries

Heavy industry makes products which are used by other industries. Factories from this industry are mainly located in Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine. The main heavy industries are:

                   − iron industry, which is focused on the production of iron.
                   − metallurgy, which is focused on the production of other metals.

• The machinery and equipment industry makes machines, tools, vehicles, etc. Factories from this industry are mainly located in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
• The consumer goods industry makes products that go directly to consumers. This includes the food, pharmaceutical, electronics, textile and automotive industries.

In Spain 14 out of every people work in the secondary sector. The most important industries are food, metal and chemical.

The most industrialized regions are Catalonia, The Basque Country, Madrid and Valencia.

Construction is also an important activity in secondary sector. This activity involves other industrial activities (heavy industry, machinery, transport...).

Forestry and mining in Europe

Forestry and mining are other activities of the primary sector in Europe.

Forestry - in northern European countries such as Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Mining - coal mining in the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland, iron mining in Sweden, France and Ukraine, and gas and oil drilling in Norway and Russia.

Fishing in Europe and Spain

In recent years, fishing activity has decreased in Europe due to overexploitation of the European fisheries. But thanks to international agreements European ships can fish in seas and oceans from other continents.

Russia, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and the United Kingdom have the most modern fishing fleets.

Spain is one of the leading fishing countries in the world, specially in onshore fishing (boats near the coast).

The primary sector in Europe and Spain - agriculture

The primary sector includes jobs which obtain resources from nature. The main activities from this sector are agriculture, livestock farming and fishing.

In Europe, 5 out of every 100 people work in this sector. Similarly, in Spain, 4 out of every 100 people work in the primary sector.

Agriculture

In Europe, agriculture is the most important activity in the 

primary sector.

There are two large agricultural areas: 

• the Great European Plain and Russia (cereals, potatoes and beets), and the Mediterranean region.
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• The Mediterranean region (dry cereals like wheat, grapes and olives, and irrigated crops, such as fruit and vegetables).

Spain produces dry and irrigated crops typical of the Mediterranean region. Cereals, grapes and olives are the most common crops, especially in Castile-La Mancha, Castile and León, and Andalusia.

Irrigated crops make up about 20% of the agricultural land. Fruit, rice and vegetables are the most common crops, especially in the Community of Valencia, in Murcia and in Andalusia.

Livestock farming:

• Intensive livestock farming - common in northern and central Europe. Cattle, sheep and pig farming.
• Extensive livestock farming - common in the Mediterranean regions. Cattle and sheep farming.

Summary unit 3, The economy

Students work on groups (4 or 5 pupils each group) and they have to be ready to answer differents questions about the unit. We can use different strategies to motivate: points cards, blackboard with positive notes, etc ... If a group can´t answer a question, the other groups have possibilities to answer one and get a point.

ENLACE: summary unit 3, economy, en power point