Retail petrol prices across Africa remained sharply divided in September as elevated crude oil prices, tight refined-product supply and rising freight costs interacted with local factors such as import dependence, weak refining capacity, exchange-rate pressure, transport costs and differences in government subsidy and taxation policies.
Brent crude ended September at $103.50 per barrel, 42.8% higher than the $72.48 per barrel recorded before the United States attacked Iran on September 28. The increase came even though Middle East crude oil exports recovered to about 98% of their pre-war levels. Data from Global Petrol Prices, updated on September 28, 2026, put the global average petrol price at about $1.59 per litre.
Malawi had the highest petrol price on the continent at $3.240 per litre, followed by Zimbabwe at $2.060 per litre and Sierra Leone at $2.033 per litre. The ranking, in ascending order, was:
10. Kenya — $1.639 per litre 9. Senegal — $1.717 per litre 8. Uganda — $1.755 per litre 7. Seychelles — $1.769 per litre 6. Cape Verde — $1.807 per litre 5. Central African Republic — $1.818 per litre 4. Rwanda — $1.991 per litre 3. Sierra Leone — $2.033 per litre 2. Zimbabwe — $2.060 per litre 1. Malawi — $3.240 per litre
Petrol in Malawi was about 57% more expensive than in Zimbabwe. Nigeria ranked among the continent's cheaper petrol markets at $0.997 per litre, while Libya at $0.023 per litre, Angola at $0.327 and Algeria at $0.351 remained far below the global average.
Fiscal measures helped shape several national outcomes. Kenya announced a KSh945 million fuel subsidy and reduced Value Added Tax on petroleum products to 8% for a further three months until October 2026. In May, Senegal's Finance Minister Cheikh Diba disclosed that the fuel subsidy bill could exceed the 2026 budget allocation by as much as 1.15 trillion CFA francs ($2 billion). Sierra Leone's National Petroleum Regulatory Authority Director, General Brima Baluwa Koroma, said the country was spending $2.6 million monthly on fuel subsidies.
The divergence reflects structural differences across markets. Countries that produce crude oil domestically, operate significant refining capacity or subsidise fuel consumption can sometimes maintain lower retail prices than economies dependent on imported petroleum products. Ghana absorbed GH¢2 per litre on diesel and GH¢0.36 per litre on petrol in April, with the diesel intervention continuing as international fuel prices stayed elevated, and moved to reduce some taxes and levies along the fuel supply chain. Global fossil-fuel subsidies could exceed $1 trillion in 2026 as governments spend more to protect households and businesses from rising energy costs.
