Question

How is occupational structure a good indicator of levels of economic development of a nation?

Answer 1

The working population (i.e. women and men of the age group – 15 to 59) take part in various occupations ranging from agriculture, forestry, fishing, manufacturing construction, commercial transport, services, communication, and other unclassified services. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and mining are classified as primary activities manufacturing as secondary, transport, communication, and other services as tertiary and the jobs related to research and developing ideas as quaternary activities.

The proportion of the working population engaged in these four sectors is a good indicator of the levels of economic development of a nation. This is because only a developed economy with industries and infrastructure can accommodate more workers in the secondary, tertiary, and quaternary sectors. If the economy is still in the primitive stages, then the proportion of people engaged in primary activities world be high as it involves the extraction of natural resources.