There have been important studies of recent income inequality and of poverty in South Africa, but very little is known about the long-run trends over time. There is speculation about the extent of inequality when the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, but no hard evidence. In this paper, we provide evidence that is partial—being confined to top incomes—but which for the first time shows how the income distribution changed on a (near) annual basis from 1913 onwards. We present estimates of the shares in total income of groups such as the top 1% and the top 0.1%, covering the period from colonial times to the twenty-first century. For a number of years during the apartheid period, we have data classified by race. The estimates for recent years bear out the picture of South Africa as a highly unequal country, but allow this to be placed in historical and international context. The time series presented here will, we hope, provide the basis for detailed investigation of the impact of South African institutions and policies, past and present. But the similarity of the changes over time in top incomes across the four ex-dominions suggests that national developments have to be seen in the light of common global forces.

对南非最近的收入不平等和贫困进行了重要研究，但对长期趋势知之甚少。有人猜测 1910 年南非联盟成立时的不平等程度，但没有确凿的证据。在本文中，我们提供了部分证据——仅限于最高收入——但它首次显示了自 1913 年以来收入分配如何在（接近）年度基础上发生变化。我们提供了从殖民时代到 21 世纪期间最高 1% 和最高 0.1% 等群体在总收入中所占份额的估计值。在种族隔离时期的许多年里，我们都有按种族分类的数据。近年来的估计证实了南非是一个高度不平等的国家，但允许将其置于历史和国际背景中。我们希望这里介绍的时间序列将为详细调查南非过去和现在的机构和政策的影响提供基础。但是，四个前自治领的最高收入随时间变化的相似性表明，必须根据共同的全球力量来看待国家发展。