Analyzing Spanish Trade: Internal and External Markets
Spanish Trade
Trade is the activity that offers surplus goods and services to consumers. It may be within or outside a country’s borders.
Domestic Trade
Domestic trade is characterized by the following features:
- Its location depends on a transportation system between producers, traders, and consumers, and a huge consumer market with adequate purchasing power. This favors urban areas and communities with a good transport network, high population density, and higher per capita income (Madrid, Catalonia,
Understanding Economic Sectors: Resources to Consumption
Primary Sector Activities
Crop Agriculture: Economic activity that obtains cereals, fruits, and vegetables from the land for consumption or as raw material for industry.
Livestock Farming: Economic activity that obtains different products (meat, milk, wool, eggs) from farm animals (cows, sheep, etc.).
Forestry: The science of planting and caring for forests and the management of growing timber.
Fishing: The technique, occupation, or diversion of catching fish.
Cooperative: A business that is owned by
Demographic Transition & Agricultural Evolution
The Four Phases of Demographic Transition
The demographic transition model describes population change over time. It is based on historical population trends of two demographic characteristics – birth rate and death rate – to suggest that a country’s total population growth rate cycles through stages as that country develops economically.
Phase 1: Pre-industrial Society
High birth and mortality rates characterize the pre-industrial phase. Each woman had approximately five children, but infant mortality
Read MoreUnderstanding Land Transportation Networks and Infrastructure
Land Transportation
Transportation is the activity that moves people and goods between geographic locations. This is done using Earth modes, river, and air shipping.
The terrestrial network is centered in Madrid and extends to the borders and ports. This model began in the eighteenth century with the road network of the Bourbons and was consolidated in the nineteenth century as the railway network, basically coinciding with that of the road.
Road Transport
Roads connect different villages, so they are
Read MoreUnderstanding Population and Migration: Key Concepts
Understanding Population and Migration
Population Basics
Population: The number of people living in a certain area.
Reasons for Population Growth
- More resources available.
- More births than deaths.
- Better healthcare leading to longer lifespans.
Population Distribution and Density
Population distribution: How people are spread out across an area.
Population density: How crowded a place is.
Sparsely populated: An area with few people.
Densely populated: An area with many people.
Birth and Death Rates
Birth rate:
Read MoreService Sector Expansion, Transportation, and Tourism Trends
The Expansion of Services
The service sector, also known as the tertiary sector, is rapidly growing. It offers services to the population and businesses. Territories are undergoing a process of ‘tertiarization’ of their economy. This means the majority of the population in those countries work in this sector. In countries with higher incomes, such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, 70% of the population works in services, exceeding three-quarters in some. This indicates a post-
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