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From farming to industry

200 years ago, Sweden was a poor farming country. Almost the whole population lived in the countryside and worked with land or animals. During the 1800s machines and industry grew across Europe. Sweden became an industrial society and many moved to cities.

In the early 1800s, 2.5 million people lived in Sweden. A hundred years later the population had doubled, thanks to better farming and medicine. The country was still poor. Between 1850 and 1920 over a million Swedes emigrated to the USA, hoping for a better life.

The first big industries were sawmills and steel works in the mid-1800s. Later came shoe, clothing and engineering industries.

5 practice questions