Editing Helsinki (section)

==Demographics==
===Population===
{{Historical populations
| title= Historical population
| percentages = pagr
|state = collapsed
 |1875|23070
 |1880|36346
 |1890|56236
 |1900|79126
 |1910|118736
 |1920|152200
 |1930|205833
 |1940|252484
 |1950|368519
 |1960|448315
 |1972|511823
 |1980|483036
 |1990|492400
 |2000|555474
 |2010|588549
 |2020|656920
 |footnote= Source: Statistical Yearbook of Helsinki 2012<ref name="stv1940">{{Cite web  | url=https://www.hel.fi/hel2/tietokeskus/julkaisut/pdf/13_01_03_Tilastollinen_vuosikirja_2012.pdf | title=Statistical Yearbook of Helsinki 2012 | date=2012 | publisher=City of Helsinki Urban Facts | access-date=19 September 2023}}</ref> [[Statistics Finland]] (1972-2020)<ref name="Stat-finland-population-38,000-persons">{{Cite web | url=https://stat.fi/en/publication/cl8lprraorrr20dut5a0tywm5 | title=Number of foreign-language speakers grew by nearly 38,000 persons | date=31 May 2023 | publisher=Statistics Finland | access-date=12 September 2023}}</ref>
}}
The city of Helsinki has {{formatnum: {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Helsinki }}}} inhabitants, making it the most populous municipality in Finland and the third in the [[Nordic countries|Nordics]].  The [[Helsinki metropolitan area|Helsinki region]] is the largest urbanised area in Finland with {{formatnum: {{#expr: {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Helsinki}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Espoo}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Vantaa}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Mäntsälä}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Pornainen}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Kauniainen}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Kirkkonummi}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Vihti}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Nurmijärvi}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Hyvinkää}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Tuusula}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Kerava}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Järvenpää}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Sipoo}} }} }} inhabitants. The city of Helsinki is home to 12% of Finland's population. 20.8% of the population has a foreign background, which is twice above the national average. However, it is lower than in the major Finnish cities of [[Espoo]] or [[Vantaa]].<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final">{{cite web |url= https://stat.fi/en/publication/cm1jg8tr20lco07vwvoif9s6i |title= Number of foreign-language speakers exceeded 600,000 during 2024  |date= 2025-04-04 |series= Population structure |publisher= Statistics Finland |issn= 1797-5395  |access-date=2025-04-06 }}</ref>

At 53 percent of the population, women form a greater proportion of Helsinki residents than the national average of 51 percent. Helsinki's population density of 3,147 people per square kilometre makes Helsinki the most densely-populated city in Finland. The life expectancy for men and women is slightly below the national averages: 75.1 years for men as compared to 75.7 years, 81.7 years for women as compared to 82.5 years.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tapani Valkonen ym. |date=17 December 2007 |title=Tutkimuksia 10/2007: Elinajanodotteen kehitys Helsingissä ja sen väestönosaryhmissä 1991–2005 |url=http://www.hel.fi/hel2/tietokeskus/julkaisut/pdf/07_12_17_tutk_10_Valkonen.pdf |access-date=30 December 2007 |publisher=Helsingin kaupunki, tietokeskus |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308095129/https://www.hel.fi/hel2/tietokeskus/julkaisut/pdf/07_12_17_tutk_10_valkonen.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Tilastolaitoksen historiaa |title=Tilasto |url=http://www.stat.fi/org/historia/elinajanodote.html |access-date=13 April 2010 |publisher=Stat.fi |archive-date=24 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100424015724/http://www.stat.fi/org/historia/elinajanodote.html }}</ref>

Helsinki has experienced strong growth since the 1810s, when it replaced [[Turku]] as the capital of the [[Grand Duchy of Finland]], which later became the sovereign [[Republic of Finland]]. The city continued its growth from that time on, with an exception during the [[Finnish Civil War]]. From the end of [[World War II]] up until the 1970s there was a massive exodus of people from the countryside to the cities of Finland, in particular Helsinki. Between 1944 and 1969 the population of the city nearly doubled from 275,000<ref>{{cite web |title=Helsingin historia |url=http://www.hel.fi/hki/Helsinki/en/Etusivu |access-date=13 April 2010 |publisher=Hel.fi |archive-date=23 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523085802/http://www.hel.fi/hki/Helsinki/en/Etusivu }}</ref> to 525,600.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 December 1972 |title=Maan alle |url=http://www.aatos.fi/Hki450v/metro.html |access-date=13 April 2010 |publisher=Aatos.fi}}</ref>

In the 1960s, the population growth of Helsinki began to decrease, mainly due to a lack of housing.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Butzin |first=Bernhard |year=1991 |title=Helsinki&nbsp;— aspects of urban development and planning |journal=[[GeoJournal]] |publisher=Springer, Netherlands |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=11–26 |doi=10.1007/BF00212573 |issn=0343-2521 |s2cid=155038338}}<!--|access-date=23 January 2011--></ref> Some residents began to move to the neighbouring cities of Espoo and Vantaa, resulting in increased population growth in both municipalities. Espoo's population increased ninefold in sixty years, from 22,874 people in 1950 to 244,353 in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=Espoo population exceeds 250 000 |url=http://www.espoo.fi/en-US/Espoo_population_exceeds_250_000 |access-date=1 September 2020 |website=espoo.fi |archive-date=19 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319112633/https://www.espoo.fi/en-US/Espoo_population_exceeds_250_000 }}</ref> Vantaa saw an even more dramatic change in the same time span: from 14,976 in 1950 to 197,663 in 2009, a thirteenfold increase. These population changes prompted the municipalities of metropolitan area into more intense cooperation in areas such as public transportation<ref>{{cite web |date=1 January 2010 |title=HSL Helsingin seudun liikenne&nbsp;– About HSL |url=http://www.hsl.fi/EN/abouthsl/Pages/default.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119022312/http://www.hsl.fi/EN/abouthsl/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=19 January 2010 |access-date=13 April 2010 |publisher=Hsl.fi}}</ref> – resulting in the foundation of [[Helsinki Regional Transport Authority|HSL]] – and waste management.<ref>{{cite web |title=HSY&nbsp;– Default |url=http://www.hsy.fi/en/Pages/default.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325182620/http://www.hsy.fi/en/Pages/Default.aspx |archive-date=25 March 2010 |access-date=13 April 2010 |publisher=Hsy.fi}}</ref> The increasing scarcity of housing and the higher costs of living in the capital region have pushed many daily commuters to find housing in formerly rural areas, and even further, to cities such as [[Lohja]], [[Hämeenlinna]], [[Lahti]], and [[Porvoo]].

{{Bar chart
| title   = Population size 1980–2020<ref name="Stat-finland-population-38,000-persons"/>
| label_type  = Year
| data_type   = Population
| bar_width = 47
| width_units = em
| label1  = 1980
| label2  = 1985
| label3  = 1990
| label4  = 1995
| label5  = 2000
| label6  = 2005
| label7  = 2010
| label8  = 2015
| label9  = 2020 
| data_max = 665000
| data1  = 483036
| data2  = 485795	
| data3  = 492400
| data4  = 525031
| data5  = 555474
| data6  = 560905
| data7  = 588549
| data8  = 628208
| data9  = 656920
}}

=== Language ===

{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|direction=row
|caption = Population by<br/>mother tongue (2024)<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/>
|label1 = Finnish
|value1 = 74.1
|color1 = #002F6C
|label2 = Swedish
|value2 = 5.4
|color2 = #FFCD00
|label3 = Russian
|value3 = 3.1
|color3 = #D52B1E
|label4 = Somali
|value4 = 2.2
|color4 = #4189DD
|label5 = Arabic
|value5 = 1.6
|color5 = #165D31
|label6 = English
|value6 = 1.5
|color6 = #FFFFFF
|label7 = Estonian
|value7 = 1.4
|color7 = #0072CE
|label8 = Other
|value8 = 10.6
|color8 = #C5C5C5
}}
The city of Helsinki is officially [[bilingual]], with both [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]] as official languages. {{As of|2024}}, the majority of the population, {{formatnum: {{Data Finland municipality/native language Finnish|Helsinki}}}} persons ({{Percentage|sigfig = 3|{{Data Finland municipality/native language Finnish|Helsinki}}|{{Data Finland municipality/native language total|Helsinki}}}}), spoke Finnish as their first language. The number of [[Swedish-speaking population of Finland|Swedish speakers]] was {{formatnum: {{Data Finland municipality/native language Swedish|Helsinki }}}} persons ({{Percentage|sigfig = 2|{{Data Finland municipality/native language Swedish|Helsinki}}|{{Data Finland municipality/native language total|Helsinki}}}}) of the population. 

In addition, the number of people who speak [[Sámi languages|Sámi]], Finland's third official language, was only {{formatnum: {{Data Finland municipality/native language Sami|Helsinki }}}} persons ({{Percentage|sigfig = 1|{{Data Finland municipality/native language Sami|Helsinki}}|{{Data Finland municipality/native language total|Helsinki}}}}) of the population. Although few people speak the Sámi languages as their mother tongue, there are 527 people of Sami origin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stat.fi/tietotrendit/blogit/2021/oulusta-on-tullut-suomen-suurin-saamelaiskyla/ |title=Oulusta tullut Suomen suurin saamelaiskylä – Helsinki on viides &#124; Tieto&trendit |language=fi|publisher=Stat.fi |date= |access-date=5 May 2022}}</ref> There are 93 Tatar speakers in Helsinki, almost half of the total number of Tatar speakers in Finland.

[[Helsinki slang]] is a regional dialect of the city. Historically, it was a combination of Finnish and Swedish, with influences from Russian and German. Nowadays it has a strong English influence. Today, however, Finnish is the common language of communication between Finnish speakers, Swedish speakers and speakers of other languages ([[New Finn]]s) in everyday public life between strangers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Immigrants Learning Swedish over Finnish Run into Problems|date=4 November 2010 |url=https://yle.fi/news/3-5664606}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Helsingfors blir allt mer flerspråkigt: "Svårt att klara sig på svenska"|url=https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-1316759}}</ref>

The city of Helsinki and the national authorities have specifically targeted Swedish speakers. Knowledge of Finnish is essential in business and is usually a basic requirement in the labour market.<ref name="yle.fi">{{cite web |title=Immigrants Learning Swedish over Finnish Run into Problems &#124; News &#124; YLE Uutiset |date=4 November 2010 |url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/immigrants_learning_swedish_over_finnish_run_into_problems/2114684 |access-date=16 September 2011 |publisher=yle.fi}}</ref> Swedish speakers are most concentrated in the southern parts of the city. The district with the most Swedish speakers is [[Ullanlinna|Ullanlinna/Ulrikasborg]] with 2,098 (19.6%), while [[Kyläsaari|Byholmen]] is the only district where Swedish is the majority language (at 82.8%). The number of Swedish speakers decreased every year until 2008, and has increased every year since then. Since 2007, the number of Swedish speakers has increased by 2,351.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hbl.fi/artikel/har-bor-de-svensksprakiga-i-helsingfors-se-hur-det-ser-ut-i-ditt-omrade/ |title=Här bor de svenskspråkiga i Helsingfors – Se hur det ser ut i ditt område |publisher=Hbl.fi |date= 20 May 2018|access-date=5 May 2022}}</ref> In 1890, Finnish speakers overtook Swedish speakers to become the majority of the city's population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Helsingin nimistön vaiheita |url=https://kaino.kotus.fi/www/verkkojulkaisut/julk125/helsinki/ |access-date=13 April 2010 |publisher=Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus}}</ref> At that time, the population of Helsinki was 61,530.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kysy.fi &#124; Helsingin kaupunginkirjasto |url=http://igs.kirjastot.fi/iGS/kysymykset/haku.aspx?word=Viipuri |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504201358/http://igs.kirjastot.fi/iGS/kysymykset/haku.aspx?word=Viipuri |archive-date=4 May 2012 |access-date=17 February 2014 |publisher=Igs.kirjastot.fi |language=fi}}</ref>

Foreign languages were spoken by {{Formatnum: {{pct|{{Data Finland municipality/native language other|Helsinki}}|{{Data Finland municipality/native language total|Helsinki}}|1}}}} of the population.<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/> As [[English language|English]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]] are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon. At least 160 different languages are spoken in Helsinki. {{As of|2024}}, the most common foreign languages are [[Russian language|Russian]] (3.1%), [[Somali language|Somali]] (2.2%), [[Arabic]] (1.6%), [[English language|English]] (1.5%), [[Estonian language|Estonian]] (1.4%), [[Chinese language|Chinese]] (0.7%) and [[Persian language|Persian]] (0.7%).<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/>

===Immigration===

{|class="wikitable" style="float:right;" 
|colspan="3"|'''Population by country of birth (2024)'''<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/>
|-\
! Nationality || Population || %
|-
|{{flag|Finland}} || 558,876|| 77.9
|-
|{{flag|Soviet Union}} || 14,604 || 2.1
|-
|{{flag|Estonia}} || 9,979 || 1.5
|-
|{{flag|Somalia}} || 7,873 || 1.2
|-
|{{flag|Iraq}} || 6,377 || 0.9
|-
|{{flag|China}} || 4,635 || 0.7
|-
|{{flag|Russia}} || 4,621 || 0.7
|-
|{{flag|Sweden}} || 3,658 || 0.5
|-
|{{flag|Philippines}} || 3,488 || 0.5
|-
|{{flag|India}} || 3,321 || 0.5
|-
|{{flag|Nepal}} || 3,087 || 0.5
|-
|Other || 63,499 || 9.3
|- 
|}
{{As of|2024}}, there were 142,296 people with an immigrant background living in Helsinki, or 21% of the population.{{efn|Statistics Finland classifies a person as having a "foreign background" if both parents or the only known parent were born abroad.<ref name="statistics-finland-persons-with-foreign-background">{{cite web |access-date=18 September 2023 |title=Persons with foreign background |publisher=Statistics Finland |url=https://www.stat.fi/tup/maahanmuutto/maahanmuuttajat-vaestossa/ulkomaalaistaustaiset_en.html |archive-date=5 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105084300/https://www.stat.fi/tup/maahanmuutto/maahanmuuttajat-vaestossa/ulkomaalaistaustaiset_en.html }}</ref>}} There were 125,142 residents who were born abroad, or 18% of the population. The number of foreign citizens in Helsinki was 84,396.<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/>

The relative share of immigrants in Helsinki's population is twice the national average, and the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin.<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/> This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years. As a crossroads of many international ports and Finland's [[Helsinki Airport|largest airport]], Helsinki is the global gateway to and from Finland.

Most foreign-born citizens come from the former [[Soviet Union]], [[Estonia]], [[Somalia]], [[Iraq]], [[China]] and [[Russia]].<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/>

=== Religion ===
In 2023, the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland|Evangelical Lutheran Church]] was the largest religious group with 46.1% of the Helsinki population. Other religious groups made up 4.5% of the population. 49.4% of the population had no religious affiliation.<ref>[https://pxdata.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11ra.px Key figures on population by region, 1990-2023] Statistics Finland</ref>

The most important churches in Helsinki are [[Helsinki Cathedral]] (1852), [[Uspenski Cathedral]] (1868), [[St. John's Church, Helsinki|St. John's Church]] (1891), [[Kallio Church]] (1912) and [[Temppeliaukio Church]] (1969).

There are 21 Lutheran congregations in Helsinki, 18 of which are Finnish-speaking and 3 are Swedish-speaking. These form Helsinki's congregationgroup. Outside that there is Finland's German congregation with 3,000 members and Rikssvenska Olaus Petri-församlingen for Swedish-citizens with 1,000 members.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://evl.fi/ota-yhteytta|title=Ota yhteyttä|website=Evl.fi|access-date=16 December 2021}}</ref>

The largest [[Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] congregation is the Orthodox Church of Helsinki. It has 20,000 members. Its main church is the [[Uspenski Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hos.fi/yhteystiedot/tietoa-seurakunnasta/|title=Tietoa seurakunnasta|website=Hos.fi|access-date=16 December 2021}}</ref> The two largest [[Catholicism|Catholic]] congregations are the [[Cathedral of Saint Henry]], with 4,552 members, established in 1860 and [[St. Mary's Church, Helsinki|St Mary's Catholic Parish]], with 4,107 members, established in 1954.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tilastotietoja |url=https://katolinen.fi/helsingin-hiippakunta/tilastotietoja/ |website=Katolinen kirkko Suomessa}}</ref>

[[File:Helsinki Helsingfors Synagogue 02.png|thumb|left|[[Helsinki Synagogue]] in 2020]]
There are around 30 mosques in the Helsinki region. Many linguistic and ethnic groups such as [[Bangladeshis]], [[Kosovo Albanians|Kosovars]], [[Kurds]] and [[Bosniaks]] have established their own mosques.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kielimoskeija: Kallion moskeijassa lapsista kasvatetaan pakistanilaisia |url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/kielimoskeija_kallion_moskeijassa_lapsista_kasvatetaan_pakistanilaisia/8374875 |website=Yle Uutiset|date=28 October 2015 }}</ref> The largest congregation in both Helsinki and Finland is the {{ill|Helsinki Islamic Center|fi|Helsinki Islam Keskus}}, established in 1995. It has over 2,800 members {{as of|2017|lc=yes}}, and it received €24,131 in government assistance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://minedu.fi/documents/1410845/4935909/2018+uskonnolliset+yhdyskunnat.pdf/d311612c-ac42-4181-901c-41f2e4b4a8c7/2018+uskonnolliset+yhdyskunnat.pdf.pdf|title=OKM - Avustukset rekisteröityjen uskonnollisten yhdyskuntien toimintaan v. 2018|website=Minedu.fi|access-date=16 December 2021}}</ref>

In 2015, imam {{ill|Anas Hajar|fi|Anas Hajjar}} estimated that on big celebrations around 10,000 Muslims visit mosques.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vaikuttajaimaami: "Pääkaupunkiseudulle tarvitaan jopa viisi suurmoskeijaa" |url=http://yle.fi/uutiset/vaikuttajaimaami_paakaupunkiseudulle_tarvitaan_jopa_viisi_suurmoskeijaa/8412539 |website=Yle Uutiset|date=28 October 2015 }}</ref> In 2004, it was estimated that there were 8,000 Muslims in Helsinki, 1.5% of the population at the time.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 February 2004 |title=Tietokulma &#124; Islam Helsingissä |url=https://www.hs.fi/kaupunki/art-2000004203725.html |website=Helsingin Sanomat}}</ref> The number of people in Helsinki with a background from Muslim majority countries was nearly 41,000 as of 2021, representing over 6% of the population.

The main synagogue of Helsinki is the [[Helsinki Synagogue]] from 1906, located in [[Kamppi]]. It has over 1,200 members, out of the 1,800 [[Jews in Finland]], and it is the older of the two buildings in Finland originally built as a synagogue, followed by the [[Turku Synagogue]] in 1912.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.rky.fi/read/asp/r_kohde_det.aspx?KOHDE_ID=1601 | title= Helsingin synagoga | work= RKY | publisher= Museovirasto | access-date= 30 December 2020 | language=fi}}</ref> The congregation includes a synagogue, Jewish kindergarten, school, library, Jewish meat shop, two Jewish cemeteries and an retirement home. Many Jewish organizations and societies are based there, and the synagogue publishes the main Jewish magazine in Finland, ''{{ill|HaKehila|fi}}''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jchelsinki.fi/tietoa-meista/helsingin-synagoga/|title=Helsingin synagoga|website=Jchelsinki.fi|access-date=16 December 2021}}</ref>