AfroFuel — Pan-African Fuel Price Tracker

AfroFuel updates fuel prices on a weekly basis. Our data is sourced from national petroleum regulatory agencies, government energy ministries, and independent market data providers across all 54 African countries. For countries with regulated pricing, we update immediately when new government-mandated prices are announced. For deregulated markets, we aggregate pricing data from multiple fuel stations in major cities to provide an accurate national average.

Fuel price differences across Africa are driven by several key factors. Government subsidies play the largest role — oil-producing nations like Libya, Algeria, and Angola often subsidise fuel heavily, keeping prices artificially low. Tax structures vary significantly: some countries levy over 40% in taxes and levies on fuel, while others keep taxes minimal. Refining capacity matters too; countries that refine domestically (South Africa, Egypt) avoid import premiums. Landlocked countries like Chad, Central African Republic, and Niger face higher logistics costs for transporting fuel from coastal ports. Exchange rate fluctuations also play a critical role, especially in countries with volatile currencies like Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Sudan.

Libya consistently has the cheapest petrol in Africa, with prices as low as $0.03 per litre due to massive government subsidies and domestic oil production. Algeria and Egypt also rank among the cheapest. On the expensive end, countries like the Central African Republic, Malawi, and Zimbabwe often have the highest fuel prices, sometimes exceeding $1.80 per litre. Island nations like Seychelles and Comoros also tend to have elevated prices due to import dependency and limited economies of scale.

The cost of running a generator in Nigeria depends on generator size, fuel consumption rate, hours of operation, and current petrol prices. A typical 5 KVA generator consumes approximately 1.5 litres per hour. Running it for 8 hours daily over 26 working days would consume about 312 litres of petrol per month. At current Nigerian fuel prices, this could cost between NGN 150,000 and NGN 250,000 monthly. Our generator cost calculator above provides precise estimates based on live fuel prices and lets you compare costs against grid electricity (Band A at ₦68/kWh) and solar alternatives.

PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) is the standard petrol used in cars, motorcycles, and small generators. It is the most widely consumed fuel type across Africa. AGO (Automotive Gas Oil) is diesel fuel, primarily used in trucks, buses, heavy machinery, and large industrial generators. AGO is typically more expensive than PMS but offers better energy density. LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is cooking gas, increasingly used as a cleaner alternative to charcoal and firewood. LPG pricing is usually quoted per kilogram rather than per litre, and its adoption is being promoted across Africa as part of clean energy transitions.

Fuel pricing regulation varies significantly across the continent. Heavily regulated markets include Nigeria (through NNPC), Egypt, Algeria, Libya, and Angola, where government-set prices keep fuel affordable but create subsidy burdens on national budgets. Market-based pricing with periodic government adjustments exists in countries like Kenya (through ERC monthly reviews), South Africa (monthly adjustments by DMRE), and Ghana (bi-weekly pricing windows). Fully deregulated markets exist in a smaller number of countries where prices respond directly to international crude oil movements. Several countries are in various stages of subsidy reform, transitioning from regulated to market-based pricing — Nigeria's ongoing deregulation is a prominent example.

LPG pricing in Africa is influenced by global propane and butane prices, local distribution infrastructure, cylinder exchange costs, and government policies. South Africa and Nigeria have relatively affordable LPG due to domestic production and government pricing interventions. East African nations like Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda tend to have higher LPG costs, partly due to import dependency. LPG is sold in various cylinder sizes (3kg, 6kg, 12.5kg, and 50kg being most common), and per-kilogram prices often decrease with larger cylinder sizes. Many African governments are promoting LPG adoption through tax exemptions and distribution programs to reduce deforestation caused by charcoal and firewood use.

Yes, the AfroFuel API provides programmatic access to both current and historical fuel price data for all 54 African countries. The API returns JSON-formatted data including petrol, diesel, and LPG prices in both local currencies and USD equivalents. Features include historical data going back 12 months, weekly price change percentages, regional aggregates, and regulatory status flags. The API supports filtering by country, region, fuel type, and date range. Visit our API documentation page for full endpoint details, authentication setup, rate limits, and code examples in Python, JavaScript, and cURL.