S.5 Geo Industrialization 2015 Caltec S.5

INDUSTRIALIZATION Industrialization is the process whereby countries increasingly become involved in the production of manufactured goods. Industrialization has formed a major criteria of classifying developed and developing countries in the world. Industries are classified as: Heavy industries. These are major industrial enterprises that process large amounts of bulky raw materials, involves heavy investment and large-scale production such as iron and steel industry, shipbuilding, rail engineering, mineral refinery, petrochemical, aluminum smelting, automobile, and Aircraft industry. These are often located close to the supplies of raw materials. Light industries. These are industries that use relatively less raw materials and lower capital investment. Examples include textiles, printing and publishing, furniture, pharmaceuticals, optical instruments, agricultural processing. Contribution of industrialization to development Generation of foreign exchange through the exportation of the industrial goods such as textiles, chemicals, and machinery to other countries. The foreign currency generated helps to import foreign goods not produced locally, and foreign technology. Generation of many employment opportunities at various stages directly and indirectly such as the supply of industrial raw materials, industrial processing, grading and packing industrial goods, transportation, and exportation of industrial output. This has helped to improve the standards of living of the people such as through building better houses, accessing better education and health services. Promotion of urbanization/ development of urban centres for example in the Rand of south Africa –Johannesburg, Pretoria, Germiston, springs, Witbank, and Kimberley. As population increases in these urban centres, a number of associated facilities come up such as banking, insurance, education, hospitals, recreation, entertainment, and research facilities. The industrial sector facilitates capital accumulation from the sale of the industrial goods. It also attracts many private investors hence raising valuable capital to invest in various sectors of the economy like mining, farming and tourism. Generation of government revenue from the taxation of the …