Helsinki vs Warsaw

Helsinki and Warsaw are level on the CIRA Index at 71. Helsinki grades better on 9 measures, Warsaw on 5; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Helsinki 71, Warsaw 71
• OECD: Helsinki 72, Warsaw 72
• UN Tourism: Helsinki 70, Warsaw 78
• UNDRR: Helsinki 71, Warsaw 67

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Helsinki 67, Warsaw 63
• Economy and jobs: Helsinki 83, Warsaw 92
• Climate and hazards: Helsinki 80, Warsaw 70
• Water and environment: Helsinki 63, Warsaw 88
• Community and housing: Helsinki 83, Warsaw 81
• Access and continuity: Helsinki 75, Warsaw 63

Where Helsinki is stronger

• Largest foreign market: 15 % of international arrivals or nights (City of Helsinki / Visitory, Nordic Tourism Trends, 2024). At or below 15: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 59 % average annual occupancy (City of Helsinki, 'New record: Over 4.55 million overnight stays in Helsinki's accommodation establishments in 2024', 2024). Between 55 and 65: grade 2/4.
• Income per head: 70,915 GDP per capita, USD PPP (region figure) (OECD Regional Statistics via OECD.Stats, 2022). At or above 60,000: grade 4/4.
• Wildfire and storm hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Country disaster risk: 2 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). At or below 2: grade 4/4.
• Rent growth: 0.1 % change in rents over the last 12 months (country figure) (Statistics Finland, Rents of dwellings, 2026 Q2). At or below 3: grade 4/4.
• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (metro figure) (City of Helsinki / Helsinki Region Transport / Finavia / Port of Helsinki, 2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (City of Helsinki, 2026). Grade 2/4.
• Government effectiveness: 97.6 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). At or above 80: grade 4/4.

Where Warsaw is stronger

• Recovery against 2019: 134.3 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (Statistical Office in Warszawa (GUS), 'Tourism in m.st. Warszawa in 2025' and 'Tourism in Warsaw capital city in 2019', 2025). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
• Unemployment rate: 1.6 % of the labour force (Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy (MRPiPS) / Statistics Poland (GUS), July 2026). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 100 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (Statistics Poland (GUS), Local Data Bank (BDL) & MPWiK m.st. Warszawy, 2023). At or above 95: grade 4/4.
• Municipal waste per resident: 379.6 kg per resident per year (Statistical Office in Warsaw (Urząd Statystyczny w Warszawie), 2023). Between 350 and 450: grade 3/4.
• Tourism intensity: 4.7 visitor nights per resident per year (Urząd Statystyczny w Warszawie & Główny Urząd Statystyczny (GUS), 2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Finland: #19 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Poland: #28 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Helsinki in full · Warsaw in full

The CIRA Index ranking · City vs city · How the index works · CIRA Studio · Put your city in the pilot