- Licensed building area for residential and nonresidential purposes in Jordan rose 5.7 percent during the first eight months of 2026.
- The number of building permits issued increased 3 percent during the same period.
- Residential purposes accounted for 81.8 percent of licensed area.
- The central region accounted for 72.5 percent of total licensed area.
Amman, Oct. 25 (Petra) -- Licensed building area in Jordan rose 5.7 percent during the first eight months of 2026, according to a monthly report released by the Department of Statistics (DoS) on Sunday.
Total building area licensed by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and local municipalities reached 6.81 million square meters between January and August, compared with 6.44 million square meters during the same period in 2025. The total number of issued building permits also rose 3 percent to 16,771, up from 16,276 during the corresponding period last year.
Residential purposes accounted for the largest share of licensed area, at 81.8 percent. Licensed residential area rose 12 percent to reach 5.6 million square meters, compared with 5.0 million square meters in the first eight months of 2025.
Conversely, nonresidential licensed area dropped 14.5 percent to 1.24 million square meters, down from 1.45 million square meters during the same timeframe last year. It accounted for 18.2 percent of total licensed area.
By region, the central region captured the largest share of licensed building area, accounting for 72.5 percent, a 1.4 percentage point increase over the same period in 2025, according to the DoS. The northern region made up 21.7 percent (up 1.2 percentage points), while the southern region accounted for 5.8 percent (down 2.6 percentage points).
In the distribution of licensed residential area by governorate and population, Amman Governorate recorded the highest reported share, at 15.0 percent, with 0.666 square meters per person. Zarqa Governorate recorded the lowest, at 2.4 percent, with 0.108 square meters per person.
New construction and additions to existing structures totaled approximately 4 million square meters, holding steady compared with the same period in 2025, and comprised 59.5 percent of total licensed area, with retroactive licensing for existing unpermitted structures accounting for the remaining 40.5 percent.
The report defined existing buildings as structures built years earlier without permits and licensed during the month covered by data collection. Additions refer to permits for new extensions to existing licensed buildings.
//Petra// HA
