Subdivisions of Helsinki

The plethora of different official ways to divide the city is a source of some confusion to the inhabitants, as different kinds of subdivisions often share similar or identical names.

Most of the boroughs have existed since the 19th century as numbered parts of the city, and official names were assigned to them in 1959.

Today, each borough is identified by both a two-digit number between 01 and 59 and an official name in both Finnish and Swedish (in some cases they may be identical).

In addition, there is an unnumbered borough called Aluemeri that consists essentially only of outer coastal water that doesn't reach to the coast.

The district division was created by a decision of the city council on 13 December 1982, when the number of different subdivisions used by different municipal departments was seen as confusing and problematic.