– 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