This paper uses various decomposition techniques to understand the nature of household inequality in contemporary South Africa. It examines, firstly, the importance of race in overall inequality; secondly, the contribution of major income sources to national inequality; and thirdly, the relationship between inequality, poverty and the labour market. The paper finds that income inequality between the races in South Africa is amongst the highest in the world. Within-race inequality is also high with intra-African inequality being highest.