Chancel L. auteur aut IRD Cogneau Denis auteur aut IRD Gethin A. auteur aut IRD Myczkowski A. auteur aut IRD Robilliard A. S. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access This article estimates the evolution of income inequality in Africa from 1990 to 2019 by combining sur-veys, tax data, and national accounts. Inequality in Africa is very high: the regional top 10% income share nears 55%, on par with regions characterized by extreme inequality, such as Latin America and India. Most of continent-wide income inequality comes from the within-country component rather than from average income differences between countries. Inequality is highest in Southern Africa and lowest in Northern and Western Africa. It remained fairly stable from 1990 to 2019, with the exception of Southern Africa, where it increased significantly. Among historical determinants, this geographical pat-tern seems to reveal the long shadow of settler colonialism, at least in Sub-Saharan Africa; the spread of Islam stands out as another robust correlate. The poor quality of the raw data calls for great caution, in particular when analyzing country-level dynamics. specialized Inequality Poverty Africa Distributional national accounts Colonialism AFRIQUE 095 112 162 106162 [23 ] 2023 0305-750X https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010086796 10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106162 0305-750X [F B010086796] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010086796 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2023-02/010086796.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2023-02-08 2025-02-24 fdi:010086796 fre