Helsinki is on track to surpass 700,000 residents in mid-August, marking a major population milestone shaped largely by migration.
Helsinki is set to exceed 700,000 residents around mid-August, according to calculations by the City of Helsinki Urban Research and Statistics Unit. The city has recorded record population growth in recent years. The previous comparable milestone came in August 2012, when Helsinki’s population reached 600,000.
Helsinki will mark the milestone with a campaign highlighting the city’s residents, diversity and the developments behind its population growth.
“Helsinki’s growth into a city of 700,000 residents is a testament to our city’s appeal, its opportunities and its vibrant urban life. Behind this milestone lie 700,000 different people and stories from Helsinki. The most important thing is that every Helsinki resident can feel that they are part of our city and live a good and meaningful life in Helsinki on their own terms,” Mayor Daniel Sazonov of Helsinki said in a press release.
Migration from abroad and other parts of Finland accounts for approximately 80% of Helsinki’s annual population growth. In 2025, net migration accounted for 90% of the growth, and one in five people who moved to Helsinki came from abroad. Working-age people are the fastest-growing population group, with numbers expected to continue rising sharply in the coming years.
Natural population growth, the difference between births and deaths, has declined steadily in recent years as births have decreased and deaths increased. In 2025, 6,842 children were born in Helsinki, slightly more than in the previous two years.
Helsinki’s population is younger than Finland’s overall: two-thirds of residents are of working age, and the median age was 39 at the end of 2025, compared with 44 elsewhere in Finland. The number of older residents is also rising rapidly.
Foreign-language speakers, whose mother tongue is other than Finnish, Sámi or Swedish, accounted for 21% of Helsinki’s population at the end of 2025, compared with 11% nationwide. Helsinki has 157 registered native languages.
Residents born abroad account for 19% of Helsinki’s population, while foreign nationals account for 13%. The number of residents born abroad has more than tripled this century.
