Over 200 years, Sweden went from a farming country to a country with industry, democracy and welfare.
Agriculture and industry
200 years ago, Sweden was a poor country where almost everyone lived from farming. During the 1800s, the population doubled from about 2.5 million, thanks to more food and better medicine. But many people had no work, so between 1850 and 1920, over 1 million Swedes moved to the US. This is called emigration.
At the same time, industry grew. This is called industrialisation. In the middle of the 1800s, the first large industries appeared: sawmills and steelworks. The move from the countryside to jobs in the cities is called urbanisation.
The road to democracy
For a long time, the king shared power with the nobility, the church, the merchants and the farmers. In 1809, a new constitution reduced the king's power. In 1865, more people gained the right to vote, and the nobility and the clergy lost their old power. But only men with money could vote, and the richest men had several votes each.
A popular movement is a large, voluntary association. Among the largest were the labour movement, the free church movement, the women's movement and the temperance movement. They demanded, among other things, an 8-hour working day, the right to vote and freedom of religion. The temperance movement wanted people to stop drinking alcohol.
The movements worked within the law, through demonstrations, meetings and newspaper articles. In 1909, almost all men gained the right to vote. The women's movement kept fighting, and in 1918 came the decision on universal and equal suffrage. In the 1921 election to riksdagen (the Swedish parliament), women could vote and stand for election for the first time, and Sweden became a democracy.
War and conflicts
During the First World War (1914 to 1918), Sweden chose neutrality and stayed out of the war. Even so, there were food shortages, and people protested. In the 1920s and 1930s, more people got electricity and better housing, but many still lived in cramped conditions without an indoor toilet.
Unemployment was high and strikes were common. In 1931, several people were killed in Ådalen when the military opened fire on a demonstration. In 1938, employers and trade unions signed Saltsjöbadsavtalet (the Saltsjöbaden Agreement). This became the basis for the Swedish model: employers and unions decide wages and conditions, not politicians.
Folkhemmet and the injustices
In 1928, the leader of the Social Democrats, Per Albin Hansson, described the idea of folkhemmet (the people's home). Society was to be like a good home, where everyone felt security and belonging.
But so-called race biology divided people into races of different worth. Sami people, Tornedalers, Jews and Roma were affected. Special laws made it harder for Roma and Jews to move to Sweden.
People with a mental illness or a disability could be forced to live in hospitals or care homes, sometimes for their whole life. Only in recent times has Sweden given those affected some redress, meaning acknowledged that they were treated wrongly.
The Second World War
Sweden was also neutral during the Second World War (1939 to 1945). But the situation grew difficult when the Soviet Union attacked Finland, and Nazi Germany occupied (took over) Denmark and Norway. Regeringen (the Government) allowed German soldiers to travel through Sweden to Norway and Finland, in order to avoid war.
The Holocaust was the Nazis' murder of around 6 million Jews. Sweden let in very few Jews in the 1930s and at the start of the war. The policy later changed, and Sweden began to help Jews.
Danes and Swedes helped around 7,000 Danish Jews escape to Sweden. The diplomat Raoul Wallenberg protected Jews from the concentration camps using Swedish protective passports. Towards the end of the war, the Red Cross brought thousands of Jews from German camps to Sweden in white buses.
The record years
After the war, the economy grew quickly, and almost everyone had a job. The Social Democrats governed alone for most of the period from 1945 to 1976, a time known as the record years. The working week became 40 hours, employees got 5 weeks of paid annual leave, and welfare was expanded.
Many people came here to work, for example from Finland, Greece, Yugoslavia and Turkey. This labour immigration made Sweden a country of immigration. There was a housing shortage, so in the 1960s the Million Programme began: 1 million homes in 10 years.
Gender equality increased, and women's wages became more equal to men's. New daycare centres meant more women could work. Many young people protested in the 1960s, fighting for peace, the environment and solidarity. With the du-reform, people stopped using titles and the formal word 'ni' for 'you', and switched to the informal 'du' instead. Television arrived in the early 1960s.
Modern Sweden
From the middle of the 1970s, Sweden moved from an industrial society to an information society. First came a crisis: other countries made cheaper goods, factories closed down and unemployment rose. In 1976, the Social Democrats lost power, and governments have alternated ever since.
Education became more important, and the universities and other higher education institutions grew. Technology changed quickly, so people needed to keep learning throughout life: lifelong learning. In the 1990s, many refugees came from wars and from countries without democracy. Society became more divided and hostility towards immigrants increased, so integration became important.
From the 1980s, each person's individual rights became more important, for example freedom of choice: choosing your own school and healthcare provider. Children and minorities gained stronger rights. More laws banned discrimination. Gay people and other LGBTQI people also became more accepted. From the 1990s came the digital revolution: computers, the internet, mobile phones and AI.