Industries by size

Industries are classified by size, which depends on the amount of capital invested, the number of workers, and the volume of production.

Household (cottage) industry is the smallest unit of manufacturing. Artisans work at home, with family labour and simple tools, using local raw materials to make goods for local markets or their own use. Capital and transport have little influence on it. Examples include food, cloth, mats, pottery, bricks, and goods of wood, bamboo, stone, leather and clay.

Small-scale industry differs by its place of work: a workshop outside the home. It uses local raw materials, simple power-driven machines, and semi-skilled labour. Countries with large populations, such as India, China, Indonesia and Brazil, develop labour-intensive small-scale industries to create jobs.

Large-scale industry needs a large market, plenty of energy, many raw materials, specialised workers, advanced technology, assembly-line mass production, and huge capital. It developed over the last 200 years, first in the United Kingdom, the north-eastern USA and Europe, and has now spread across the world.