Several African countries continue to rank among the world’s cheapest destinations for petrol, driven largely by fuel subsidies, government price controls, domestic refining capacity, and access to crude oil reserves.
As of January 2026, Libya maintains a commanding lead as the continent’s cheapest fuel market, with prices far below global averages, while Angola and Algeria complete the top three, according to data from Global Petrol Prices.
The figures reflect average national retail petrol prices across African countries and were last updated on January 26, 2026. Prices are quoted in US dollars per litre and converted into local currencies at prevailing exchange rates.
The rankings are compiled using data from Global Petrol Prices, a widely referenced database that tracks national average retail energy prices in more than 150 countries and over 250 cities worldwide. The platform updates its data weekly and covers petrol, diesel, electricity, and natural gas. While the data provides a useful benchmark, actual pump prices may vary by city, supplier, and distribution costs within each country.
Below are the top 10 African countries with the cheapest petrol prices per litre as of January 2026:
Petrol in Angola sells for approximately $0.327 per litre, or around 300 Angolan kwanza. The country’s low fuel prices are largely sustained by state subsidies and strong domestic crude oil production, although the government has previously indicated plans to gradually adjust prices to ease fiscal pressures.
In July 2025, a proposed fuel price hike triggered two days of unrest and looting, resulting in the deaths of at least 22 people as tensions flared in the capital.
The violence began on the first day of a strike called by taxi drivers protesting the July 1 increase in fuel costs. Angola, an oil-rich nation where millions of citizens live in poverty, experienced some of its worst civil unrest in years, highlighting the sensitivity of fuel pricing in a country governed by the MPLA party since 1975.
Following the unrest, the government took a cautious approach, and in September 2025, authorities officially ruled out any immediate plans to raise gasoline prices, aiming to restore social stability while balancing the need to manage state finances.
