Government and politics in Helsinki, Finland: official figures
Helsinki is governed by an 85-member city council (kaupunginvaltuusto) elected in the 2025 municipal elections.
Which party won the municipal election in Helsinki?
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is the largest group on the Helsinki city council with 21 of 85 seats after 2025, compared with 13 in 2021.
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), from the election results of the Ministry of Justice · saved copyWhat is the political make-up of Helsinki city council?
The 2025 election divided the Helsinki council seats SDP 21, KOK 21, VIHR 16, VAS 15, PS 4, RKP 4, KESK 2, with 9 parties or lists represented.
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), from the election results of the Ministry of Justice · saved copyHow many women are on the Helsinki city council?
Women hold 63.5% of the seats on the Helsinki city council elected in 2025, 2nd highest among the nine largest cities.
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), from the election results of the Ministry of Justice · saved copyWhat was the voter turnout in Helsinki?
Turnout in Helsinki in the 2025 municipal elections was 61.1%, the highest among the nine largest cities (Finland 54.3%), down from 61.7% in 2021.
Source: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Sotkanet · saved copyWho runs health care in Helsinki?
Unlike other municipalities, Helsinki still organises its own health, social and rescue services; it spent a net €749 per resident on services for older people in 2025.
Source: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Sotkanet · saved copyMore figures
- In the EU's 2023 survey of quality of life in European cities, 36% of residents of Helsinki agreed that there is corruption in their local public administration. Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- 38% of people in Helsinki were satisfied with how long the local administration takes to deal with a request (EU quality of life in European cities survey, 2023). Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- 42% of people in Helsinki found the local administration's procedures straightforward and easy to understand (EU quality of life in European cities survey, 2023). Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- 55% of people in Helsinki thought the fees charged by the local administration were reasonable (EU quality of life in European cities survey, 2023). Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- In the EU's 2023 survey of quality of life in European cities, 72% of residents of Helsinki said the local administration's information and services were easy to access online. Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- In the EU's 2023 survey of quality of life in European cities, 90% of residents of Helsinki were satisfied to live in the city. Source: Eurostat · saved copy
How Helsinki compares with other cities in Finland
Voter turnout in the 2025 municipal elections (%) (2025)
Helsinki ranks 1 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | Voter turnout in the 2025 municipal elections (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helsinki | 61.1% |
| 2 | Tampere | 56.8% |
| 3 | Turku | 54.8% |
| 4 | Espoo | 54.6% |
| 5 | Jyvaskyla | 52.5% |
| 6 | Oulu | 50.8% |
| 7 | Kuopio | 50.0% |
Women as a share of city councillors elected in 2025 (%) (2025)
Helsinki ranks 2 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | Women as a share of city councillors elected in 2025 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Espoo | 69.3% |
| 2 | Helsinki | 63.5% |
| 3 | Jyvaskyla | 61.9% |
| 4 | Turku | 58.2% |
| 5 | Kuopio | 57.6% |
| 6 | Vantaa | 55.2% |
| 7 | Oulu | 55.2% |
More on Helsinki: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · poverty and living standards · government budget · all cities in Finland
Sources
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset urb_percep: Quality of life in European cities survey 2023: perception (cities), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 81bd3e277f3e…)
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Sotkanet: Sotkanet indicator bank, REST API 1.1: 32 indicators (one exact JSON response per indicator, e.g. indicator=5761, plus the region list) on morbidity, primary care, lifestyle, social assistance, homelessness, county election turnout and the net operating costs of wellbeing services counties, 2015-2025, bundled in one zip, read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 e5b01db4f1e9…)
- Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), from the election results of the Ministry of Justice: Numbers and percentage shares of elected councillors by party and constituency in Municipal elections, 2021 and 2025 (table 152l, PxWeb API POST query, json-stat2), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 35f17f0496d3…)
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