South African petrol price vs Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, and Zimbabwe

Compared to 39 other economies across Africa, we in the southernmost country are in the middle of the field when it comes to petrol prices.

In South Africa, we currently pay an average of R22.46 per litre of petrol, depending on the grade and whether you’re buying at inland or coastal rates.

This puts us in the 21st position out of 40 African countries (data wasn’t available for all 54), the first being Libya which pays a meagre R0.58/litre, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com.

Our close neighbours Botswana and Namibia, which source fuels from domestic refineries, pay a lower rate than we do at R19.85/litre and R20.26/litre, respectively, whereas Mozambique and Zimbabwe pay a higher R25.36/litre and R32.66/litre – meaning Zimbabwe is the most expensive African nation when it comes to fuel.

All these countries heavily rely on imported fuels, however, a big part of the more substantial costs in Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are high levels of taxes, levies, and duties.

In all three countries, these fees account for around 30% of the price structures of petrol. In contrast, Botswana’s and Namibia’s only range between 15% and 18%, explaining their lower fares at the pumps.

Fuel prices across Africa

The below table outlines the average price across all grades of petrol in June for each of the 40 countries on review: