This paper investigates inequalities acro
ss the major black ethnic groups in South
Africa, accounting for 80 per cent of the countr
y’s population. We demonstr
ate that there is an
important ethnic gap in the poverty levels of
the Xhosa and the Zulu
with respect to the
Sotho/Tswana. We also show that these gaps ar
e largely associated with the former groups
having an accumulation of disadvantages in
location, demographic structure, education, and
labour market outcomes. The analysis of the evolution that occurred after
the end of apartheid
shows that the gap might have increased, especially in the case of the Zulu.