Local time
Sun, 4:19 AM GMT+3Europe/HelsinkiCityCapital
Helsinki
60.18° N, 24.93° E
- Population
- 1,115,000
- Natural Earth
- Population rank
- 1 of 11
- Rank by Natural Earth population among the 11 cities of Finland in Terratlasia that have a population figure. Terratlasia does not list every city of Finland, so this is not a national ranking.
- Time zone
- Europe/Helsinki
Traveler brief
Only what this atlas can source — no hours, prices, visas or safety advice.
Practical bearings for Helsinki, from the same records as the rest of this page.
No places in Helsinki have been recorded yet. The map and the country page still carry its context.
Overview
Name
The modern name is a Finnish derivation; King Gustav Vasa of Sweden founded the city in 1550 as Helsingfors. "Helsing" was the Old Norwegian name for a local people, while "fors" means "waterfall" and refers to a waterfall at the city's original location on the Vantaa River.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person