Introduction Development involves integration of modern advances in technology, democracy, social organizations, values, as well as, ethics into a single humanitarian project of making the world a better place to live. In the strongest sense, development involves using the resources of a country to improve the living standards of the poorest citizens. In the weakest sense, development can be described as the use of a country’s productive resources for the benefit of a few individuals. Economic development refers to “a multi-dimensional process that not only involves economic growth but also a re-organization of the entire economic system alongside the social, political and economic spheres”. Consequently, development involves both economic growth and change. In this context, change means attainment of specific ideals of modernization which include increase in productivity, modern knowledge, social/ economic equality, as well as, improved institutions. In strict economic sense, development has traditionally been associated with an increase in the production capacity of a country as measured by its GDP. However, GDP is not a good measure of development since it does not take into account issues such as, health, urbanization, equality, external dependence and institutional development. A more effective measure of development is the human development index (HDI). Using the HDI involves assessing a country’s level of poverty, unemployment, delivery of basic services, as well as, inequality. This paper focuses on development by assessing the level of inequality in Saudi Arabia. The distribution of national income and delivery of basic services will be discussed. Overview of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is the second largest Arab country in the world and the largest in western Asia. Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan, as well as, Iraq in the north. It is also bordered by Kuwait, Qatar, as well as, United Arab Emirates in the east. The Red sea borders the country in the west while Oman and Yemen lay to the east of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia covers a land area of approximately 2.2 million km 2 . The country has a population of approximately 27 million people. Since its inception in 1932, Saudi Arabia operates under an absolute monarchy system of government. The king performs legislative, executive, as well as, judicial functions. The king also serves as the country’s prime minister. Consequently, he leads the council of ministers with the aid of two deputy prime ministers. Key positions in the government are held by the members of the royal family. Islam is the official religion in Saudi Arabia. The social, political and even economic policies are based on Islamic principles such as Islamic banking system. Saudi Arabia has a relatively stable political environment as compared to other Arab countries. It also enjoys strong political ties with foreign countries. However, Saudi Arabia has recently been associated with terrorist activities. This has negatively impacted its relationship with western countries, especially, the United States of America. Saudi Arabia possesses the second largest oil reserve in the world. Thus, it is also the second largest exporter of oil in the world. Currently, the oil industry accounts