Helsinki

Is Helsinki safe?

Yes, and for a visitor it is among the easiest capitals in Europe. Statistics Finland records 8 homicides in the city in 2025 for about 694,000 people, about 1.2 per 100,000, and pickpocketing has fallen by more than a third since 2019. The air is close to the WHO guideline and road deaths are rare.

What worries people in Helsinki is not tourists getting robbed but young people turning on each other. In autumn 2025 police tied about 40 teenagers to a run of group robberies and beatings in residential districts. We score Helsinki 87, level with Stockholm and one point below Oslo, whose killing rate is lower.

Violent crime and the 2025 teen robberies

Helsinki's homicide count is low and steady: 8 a year in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and 15 in 2022, the one high year recently. Over 2021–2025 that averages about 1.4 per 100,000 a year, a little above Copenhagen. Attempted homicides are the figure that has grown, from 48 in 2019 to 67 in 2025. Robberies peaked at 612 in 2023 and fell to 508 in 2025, about 73 per 100,000 people.

In December 2025 Helsinki police said about 40 teenagers and young adults were suspected of group robberies and assaults committed between August and November. The method was the same each time: one or two of the group befriended a target, then a larger group surrounded, beat and robbed them. Some victims were badly hurt or humiliated. The attacks happened in Alppila, Malmi, Oulunkylä and Mustikkamaa, and the victims were young people up to the age of 20. Police investigated the cases as aggravated robbery and assault.

None of those districts is on a typical tourist route, and police described the victims as picked at random among young people. For a visitor, the practical lesson is ordinary caution late at night in quiet parks, not avoiding parts of the city.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says terrorist attacks in Finland cannot be ruled out. It also notes that some Ukrainian drones aimed at Russia have crossed into Finnish territory. The Finland page covers the border and national picture.

Pickpockets and theft

Theft from visitors is not a big problem here. Police recorded 1,122 thefts from the person in Helsinki in 2025, about 160 per 100,000 people, down from 1,914 in 2019. For comparison, Vienna had about 270 pickpocket and distraction thefts per 100,000 people in 2025.

Total thefts did jump in 2025, from about 26,400 to 36,800, but most of the rise was shoplifting, which went from 13,192 to 21,875 cases. That is a problem for shops, not for people walking around with a phone.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says pickpockets may target tourists in crowded areas during the tourist season. In summer, crowds gather at the market square, on the Suomenlinna ferries and on trams. Use a zipped pocket and do not hang a bag on the back of a café chair.

Is Helsinki safe at night?

Mostly, yes. In the EU's 2023 city survey, 80% of residents said they feel safe walking alone at night in the city and 85% in their own neighbourhood. That is slightly below Oslo and Stockholm (82%) and above Vienna (78%). Late at night, keep to lit streets and take a taxi from a rank or through an app.

Roads, air and the cold

Statistics Finland counts 26 road deaths in Helsinki in 2021–2025, with the 2025 figure still preliminary. That is about 0.8 per 100,000 a year, level with Copenhagen. Fifteen of those deaths came in crashes that involved a pedestrian or a cyclist, so watch for trams and bikes when you cross.

The air is among the cleanest of any capital: IQAir measured 5.5 µg/m³ of fine particlesPM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary in 2024, close to Stockholm's 5.3. Tap water is excellent. In summer, check for ticks after walks on the islands or in long grass; the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary lists ticks among Finland's health risks.

Cold and ice are the realistic hazards. Wear shoes with grip in winter and dress in layers.

How we scored it

Traffic safety (93), health (92) and natural hazards (92) are Helsinki's strongest factors. Violent crime (87) is in the rubric's 1–4 homicides per 100,000Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary band, at about 1.4 a year over 2021–2025, with points off for the rise in attempted homicides and the 2025 robbery gangs. Walking at night (85) follows the EU's 2023 survey of residents, which we use for every European city. Theft (78) is the weakest factor, though pickpocketing is falling.