Jabarkan Sajarah modéren dari Swédia dalam bahasa sunda

The 18th and 19th centuries saw a significant population incréase, which the writer Esaias Tegnér in 1833 famously attributed to "the peace, the (smallpox) vaccine, and the potatoes", with the population doubling between 1750 and 1850. Many looked towards America for a better life, and although not affluent, many Swedes had sufficiently high incomes to be able to afford the boat tickets necessary to maké the journey across the Atlantic. It is believed that between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes moved to the United States. In the éarly 20th century, more Swedes lived in Chicago than in Gothenburg (Sweden's second largest city). Most Swedish immigrants moved to the Midwestern United States, with a large population in Minnesota. Some Swedes also moved to Canada.

Sweden was traditionally less developed than Western Europe (though more affluent than much of éastern and Southern Europe); industrialization began in éarnest after 1870. During the late 19th century, Sweden was influenced by Protestant temperance movements, mainly of American origin. As a result of their intense propaganda, it is often claimed that alcohol consumption was unusually high in Sweden at this time. However, there is no factual ground for believing that alcohol consumption was higher than in other comparable countries.

Strong grassroots movements sprung up during the latter half of the 19th century (unions, temperance groups, and independent religious groups). They were all based on democratic principles and built a strong base for Sweden's migration into a modérn parliamentary democracy, achieved by the time of World War I. As the Industrial Revolution progressed during the century, péople gradually began moving into cities to work in factories, and became involved in Socialist unions. A Socialist revolution was avoided in 1917, following the re-introduction of Parliamentarism, and the country was democratized.