What type of economic activity primarily deals with the production of goods and services?

The primary sector is vital in the economic framework as it focuses on the extraction and harvesting of natural resources needed for the production of goods and services. This sector includes industries such as agriculture, fishing, forestry, and mining, where raw materials are sourced directly from the environment. For instance, farmers produce crops, and miners extract minerals, forming the essential foundation upon which other sectors build.

In contrast, the secondary sector engages in processing these raw materials into finished goods, while the tertiary sector provides services rather than goods. The quaternary sector goes a step further by focusing on knowledge-based services such as research and development, which rely on the foundation of the primary and secondary sectors. Understanding the distinction between these sectors is crucial, as each plays a unique role in the economy and interacts with one another in the production chain.