Saudi Arabia has been a major player in international relations for decades. The main objective of this study is to identify, in the political context of modernization, the role of economic growth factors in this key oil-producing country, which has been a member of OPEC since 1960. The author, relying primarily on the endogenous Caldorian growth model with a built-in mechanism of technological progress, examines various aspects of the modern development of Saudi Arabia and the radical transformation of its society. He concludes on the continuing importance of mineral wealth for the Saudi economy, while showing the decline in its contribution to the productivity of social labor. This necessitates the diversification of the national economy, the most obvious example of which is the development of the manufacturing industry.