Image: Yle

Europe’s costliest 95-octane gas is in neighbouring Norway, where the price has been over two euros per litre for several weeks now.

According to a European Commission report out this week, the average motorist in Finland pays 1.719 euros a litre for petrol and 1.571 euros for diesel. As a non-member, Norway was not included in the EU comparison, but last week’s average price was about 2.030 euros.

In another of Finland’s immediate neighbours, Sweden, a litre now goes for the equivalent of 1.863 euros, with diesel at 1.790 euros. Tax levels in Sweden are about the same as in Finland but the strong exchange rate for the Swedish crown has significantly raised fuel costs.

Gasoline is also pricier in Denmark, where a litre costs an average of 1.802 euros. Diesel, meanwhile, is slightly cheaper than in Finland, at 1.552 euros per litre. Among the five Nordic states, only Iceland has lower motor fuel prices.

Petrol in Finland is also significantly cheaper than in Germany, Greece, Italy or the Netherlands, for instance. It costs about two cents a litre more to fill your tank here than the EU average.

Cheaper in Estonia -- and the US

Meanwhile Finland’s southern neighbour, Estonia, has lower gasoline prices petrol than the two other small Baltic states or Poland. A litre of 95 octane gas costs an average of 1.394 euros in Estonia, while diesel sells for 1.382 euros.

About 56 percent of the price paid at the pump by drivers in Finland is made up of taxes, mostly imposed on environmental grounds.

Meanwhile in the United States, the average price of a gallon of gas is now $3.72 – the highest ever recorded for this time of year. That converts to roughly 0.78 euros per litre -- less than half the EU average