Industrialization in the World
Senior 6 · Geography
Industrialization in the World
Lesson 1 of 4
25 min
Follow a packet of Rwandan tea back to its origin (Figure 1). A farmer on the hills of Nyabihu or Nyamagabe plucks the green leaf. Within hours a factory withers, rolls, dries and grades it. Lorries, an auction, exporters and shops move it to buyers. Behind them, scientists breed better tea plants and analysts study prices. Each stage is a different kind of industry, and each adds value.
Figure 1: The tea chain and the four economic sectors.
Industry in this broad sense means any organised economic activity. In everyday geography, though, "industry" or "industrialization" usually means manufacturing: turning raw materials or parts into finished goods in factories. In 2025, NISR estimated that industry (mining, manufacturing, construction, electricity and water) made up 22% of Rwanda's GDP, services 52% and agriculture 20%.
Definition
Industry: an organised economic activity that produces goods or services for sale.
Manufacturing: changing raw materials or parts into finished products, usually in factories with machines.
Industrialization: the process by which manufacturing grows to become a major part of a country's economy and employment.
Value added: the value of what a firm produces minus the cost of the materials and services it buys in. Example: a factory turns leaf worth 1 950 Frw into tea worth 3 000 Frw, adding 1 050 Frw.
Raw material: a material in its natural or unprocessed state, such as green tea leaf, cotton or iron ore.
Footloose industry: an industry that is not tied to raw materials or a particular power source, so it can locate in many places, such as electronics assembly or software.
| Basis | Classes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Stage of production (sector) | Primary: taking resources from nature Secondary: processing and manufacturing Tertiary: services Quaternary: knowledge and research | Farming, fishing, mining, forestry Tea factories, cement works, car assembly Transport, banking, health, tourism Research laboratories, software, data analysis |
| Weight and bulk of inputs and products | Heavy: bulky raw materials and products, much capital and energy Light: small, light products, often for consumers | Iron and steel, shipbuilding, cement Clothing, food, electronics, cosmetics |
| Source of raw material | Agro-based, mineral-based, forest-based, marine-based, and industries using other factories' products | Coffee washing; tin smelting; furniture and paper; fish canning; car assembly from parts |
| Size and organisation | Cottage (small-scale): family labour, simple tools, at home Large-scale: factories, many workers, machines | Basket weaving, pottery, tailoring Breweries, textile mills, steelworks |
| Ownership | Private, public (state), joint (public and private), cooperative | A family workshop; a state power company; a tea company part-owned by farmers' cooperatives |
| Main use of factors | Labour-intensive or capital-intensive | Garment sewing; oil refining |
Economists Colin Clark and Allan Fisher noticed that as countries develop, workers move from one sector to the next (Figure 2). In a pre-industrial economy most people farm. During industrialization, factories draw workers from the land and manufacturing grows. In a post-industrial economy, machines do much of the factory work, and services and knowledge industries employ most people.
Figure 2: The Clark–Fisher model, stylised. The lines are a model, not real data.
Real data support the model. The World Bank estimates that industry employed about 19% of workers in the USA in 2025, compared with 32% in China, where factories are still expanding. Countries do not all follow the same path, however: some, like India, have moved many workers straight from farming into services.
Worked example 1: value added in a tea factory
Problem. An illustrative factory needs 4.5 kg of green leaf to make 1 kg of black tea. It pays 300 Frw per kg of green leaf and spends a further 600 Frw on fuel, electricity and packing for each kg of tea. It sells the tea for 3 000 Frw per kg. Calculate the value added per kg of tea, and the share of the selling price it represents.
Solution.
The value added pays the factory's workers, its loans and its profit. A country that only exports raw leaf earns none of it, which is why governments encourage processing at home.
Worked example 2: classifying activities
Problem. Classify each activity by sector, and by one other basis: (a) mining cassiterite (tin ore) in Rulindo District; (b) smelting tin; (c) assembling cars from imported kits in Kigali; (d) writing a mobile-money app; (e) a bank lending to farmers; (f) weaving baskets at home.
Solution.
Warning
Common mistakes. (1) Calling every factory "heavy industry": a bakery or a clothing factory is light industry. (2) Putting processing in the primary sector: a tea factory or a coffee washing station changes the raw material, so it is secondary. (3) Treating "industry" and "industrialization" as the same: industrialization is the process of manufacturing growing in importance.
Tip
Memory hook. Take it, make it, move it, think it: primary takes from nature, secondary makes, tertiary moves and serves, quaternary thinks. In an exam, classify by at least two bases to show range.
Planet Geography GCSE: "Clark Fisher Model GCSE Geography". Watch for how the share of each sector changes through the three stages, and the reasons the video gives for each change; compare them with Figure 2.
Practice
Summary
Sources and credits
Photo: Nyabihu Tea Factory Rwanda Mountain Tea Ltd (GATETE Pacifique, CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Video: "Clark Fisher Model GCSE Geography", Planet Geography GCSE, embedded from YouTube.
Figures 1 and 2, the text, worked examples and exercises: written by Ganzaa.
