Helsinki

Helsinki
Helsingfors (Swedish)
Helsingin kaupunki
Helsingfors stad
City of Helsinki
Mannerheimintie
View of central Helsinki along the Mannerheimintie
Aurinkolahti
Beaches at Aurinkolahti
Nicknames: 
Stadi (by city dwellers), Hesa (by country people),[1] the Daughter of the Baltic,[2] the Pearl of the Baltic Sea[3]
Location (in red) within the Uusimaa region and the Helsinki sub-region (in yellow)
Location (in red) within the Uusimaa region and the Helsinki sub-region (in yellow)
Helsinki is located in Europe
Helsinki
Helsinki
Location within Europe
Helsinki is located in Finland
Helsinki
Helsinki
Location within Finland
Coordinates: 60°10′15″N 24°56′15″E / 60.17083°N 24.93750°E / 60.17083; 24.93750
Country Finland
Region Uusimaa
Sub-regionHelsinki sub-region
Metropolitan areaGreater Helsinki
Charter12 June 1550
Capital city8 April 1812
Government
 • MayorJuhana Vartiainen (KOK)
 • Governing bodyCity Council of Helsinki
Area
 (2018-01-01)[4]
 • Capital city715.48 km2 (276.25 sq mi)
 • Land214.42 km2 (82.79 sq mi)
 • Water501.74 km2 (193.72 sq mi)
 • Urban
680.12 km2 (262.60 sq mi)
 • Metro
3,698.99 km2 (1,428.19 sq mi)
Elevation26 m (85 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)[6]
 • Capital city674,963
 • RankLargest in Finland
 • Density3,147.85/km2 (8,152.9/sq mi)
 • Urban
1,360,075
 • Urban density2,000/km2 (5,200/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,583,038 (Greater Helsinki)
 • Metro density428/km2 (1,110/sq mi)
Demonym(s)helsinkiläinen (Finnish)
helsingforsare (Swedish)
Helsinkian (English)
Population by native language
 • Finnish76.1% (official)
 • Swedish5.5% (official)
 • Others18.3%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1414.3%
 • 15 to 6468.3%
 • 65 or older17.4%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Area code+358-9
ClimateDfb
Websitewww.hel.fi/en

Helsinki (/ˈhɛlsɪŋki/ HEL-sink-ee or /hɛlˈsɪŋki/ hel-SINK-ee;[10][11] Finnish: [ˈhelsiŋki] ; Swedish: Helsingfors, Finland Swedish: [helsiŋˈforːs] ) is the capital and most populous city in Finland. It is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and serves as the seat of the Uusimaa region in southern Finland. Approximately 0.67 million people live in the municipality, with 1.25 million in the capital region, and 1.58 million in the metropolitan area. As the most populous urban area in Finland, it is the country's most significant centre for politics, education, finance, culture, and research. Helsinki is situated 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the north of Tallinn, Estonia, 360 kilometres (220 mi) to the north of Riga, Latvia, 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 kilometres (190 mi) to the west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has significant historical connections with these four cities.

Together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen – and surrounding commuter towns,[12] including the neighbouring municipality of Sipoo to the east[13] – Helsinki forms the Helsinki metropolitan area. This area is often considered Finland's only metropolis and is the world's northernmost metropolitan area with over one million inhabitants. Additionally, it is the northernmost capital of an EU member state. Helsinki is the third largest municipality in the Nordic countries, following Stockholm and Oslo. Its urban area is the second largest in the Nordic countries, after Stockholm. Helsinki Airport, located in the neighbouring city of Vantaa, serves the city with frequent flights to numerous destinations in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Helsinki is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 76% Finnish speakers, 6% Swedish speakers, and 18% speakers of other languages, which is well above the national average.

Helsinki hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics, the first CSCE/OSCE Summit in 1975, the first World Athletics Championships in 1983, the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 and it was the 2012 World Design Capital.[14]

Helsinki has one of the highest standards of urban living in the world. In 2011, the British magazine Monocle ranked Helsinki as the world's most liveable city in its liveable cities index.[15] In the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2016 liveability survey, Helsinki ranked ninth out of 140 cities.[16] In July 2021, the American magazine Time named Helsinki as one of the world's greatest places in 2021, as a city that "can grow into a burgeoning cultural nest in the future" and that is already known as an environmental pioneer in the world.[17] In an international Cities of Choice survey conducted in 2021 by the Boston Consulting Group and the BCG Henderson Institute, Helsinki was ranked the third best city in the world to live in, with London and New York City coming in first and second.[18][19] In the Condé Nast Traveler magazine's 2023 Readers' Choice Awards, Helsinki was ranked 4th as the friendliest cities in Europe.[20] Helsinki, along with Rovaniemi in Lapland, is also one of Finland's most important tourist cities.[21] Due to the large number of sea passengers per year, Helsinki is classified as a major port city,[22] and in 2017 it was rated the world's busiest passenger port.[23]

  1. ^ Ainiala, Terhi (2009). "Place Names in the Construction of Social Identities: The Uses of Names of Helsinki". Research Institute for the Languages of Finland. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference nickname1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference nickname2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Helsinki elevation". elevation.city.fi. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Immigration record high in Finland in 2023". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Helsinki". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins.
  11. ^ "Helsinki". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins.
  12. ^ "Cities of Finland". Eurostat. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  13. ^ "Sipoo - kahden keskuksen kunta Helsingin tuntumassa". ta.fi. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Past capital: Helsinki". Worlddesigncapital.com. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  15. ^ "Most liveable city: Helsinki — Monocle Film / Affairs". Monocle.com. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  16. ^ "Global Liveability Ranking 2016". www.eiu.com.
  17. ^ "Helsinki: The World's 100 Greatest Places of 2021". Time.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Helsinki comes in third in ranking of world's best cities to live". Helsinki Times. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  19. ^ Ghouri, Farah (4 August 2021). "London hailed as world's 'city of choice' in quality of life report". City A.M. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  20. ^ "The friendliest cities in Europe: 2023 Readers' Choice Awards". Condé Nast Traveler. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  21. ^ Lapin Kansa: Rovaniemen ja Helsingin johtajat saivat ministeriltä tehtävän miettiä, miten matkailu nousee korona-ajan mentyä ohi – Rahaa on luvassa EU:n elpymispaketista (in Finnish)
  22. ^ Roberts, Toby; Williams, Ian; Preston, John (2021). "The Southampton system: A new universal standard approach for port-city classification". Maritime Policy & Management. 48 (4): 530–542. doi:10.1080/03088839.2020.1802785. S2CID 225502755.
  23. ^ "Helsinki becomes world's busiest passenger port". clickittefaq. Retrieved 11 February 2024.