Go, but pay attention.
Numbeo's Safety Index puts Helsinki at 75/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than Finland's national picture overall (83/100 vs 85/100).
City page · part of Finland
The one number a country page can't give you
What people who actually live in Helsinki report
Numbeo aggregates thousands of resident-submitted perception surveys into a per-city Crime Index (higher = worse) and its inverse, a Safety Index — the only real city-granularity crime signal feeding this page, alongside Finland's national advisory, political, health, and police-trust data.
Crime Index
25.1
Safety Index
74.9
Sub-scores
Same real inputs as Finland's national page, with crime swapped for Helsinki's own Numbeo number above.
Local know-how
Staying safe in Helsinki, specifically
- • Helsinki is a safe city for its size.
- • Helsinki has problems with drug trafficking and use, although this seldom affects visitors.
- • On weekend nights, intoxicated people wandering around city streets may be an annoyance, especially during summer festivals and on New Year's Eve and April 30, the eve of May Day, which is t…
- • There are rare health hazards, although the winter weather should be borne in mind by visitors, especially those planning outdoor activities (or being out late).
- • In emergencies, .
- • Emergency Social Services: You can contact the social service, when you need urgent help or advice for:
Legal status (national law)
Legal since 1971; equal age of consent since 1999+ UN decl. sign.
Source: Wikipedia — LGBTQ rights by country →Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
C / F · 230V
Driving side
right
Emergency
police: 112 / ambulance: 112 / fire: 112
Tipping
As a rule, tipping is entirely optional and never necessary in Finland; restaurant bills already include service charges. Indeed tipping is almost unheard of outside restaurants with table service and taxi fares; the latter are occasionally rounded up to the next convenient number. Cloakrooms (narikka) in nightclubs and better restaurants often have non-negotiable fees (usually clearly signposted,
SIM / Data
As you'd expect from Nokia's home country, mobile phones are ubiquitous in Finland. Modern 4G/5G networks blanket the country, although it's still possible to find wilderness areas with poor signal, typically in Lapland and the outer archipelago, and the net may at times be congested elsewhere. The largest operators are Telia, Elisa (a Vodafone partner) and DNA. Most locals use packages with data,
Cash vs. Card
The vast majority of payments in Finland are electronic, and most Finns use a debit card for their daily purchases. Credit cards (mainly VISA and MasterCard) are widely accepted and contactless payment readers that also accept Google and Apple Pay are commonplace. Increasing numbers of businesses and vending machines accept only card. If you don't have a chip and PIN, expect a hassle – personnel i
How this compares to Finland
Numbeo's Safety Index puts Helsinki at 75/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than Finland's national picture overall (83/100 vs 85/100).
See the full Finland page and all receipts →