Amman, Aug. 10 (Petra) — The number of building licenses issued in
the Kingdom rose by 3.2 percent in the first half of 2026, reaching
12,070 compared with 11,700 in the same period of 2025, the
Department of Statistics (DoS) said Monday.

In its monthly report on construction activity and building licenses,
the DoS said the total area of licensed buildings increased by 2
percent to 4.87 million square meters, compared with 4.77 million
square meters during the corresponding period last year.

Licensed residential building area rose by 10 percent to 4.03 million
square meters from 3.66 million square meters in the first half of
2025.

In contrast, licensed area for non-residential purposes fell by 24
percent to 846,000 square meters, compared with 1.11 million square
meters a year earlier.

Residential construction accounted for 82.6 percent of the total
licensed building area during the first six months of the year, while
non-residential construction represented 17.4 percent.

Regionally, the Central Region accounted for 73 percent of the
Kingdom’s total licensed building area, an increase of 1.1 percentage
points from the same period of 2025.

The Northern Region’s share stood at 21 percent, up one percentage
point, while the Southern Region accounted for 6 percent, down 2.1
percentage points from a year earlier.

At the governorate level, Amman recorded the highest per-capita share
of newly licensed residential building area, at 15.7 percent and
0.490 square meters per person. Zarqa recorded the lowest, at 2.7
percent and 0.083 square meters per person.

New buildings and additions to existing structures accounted for 57.5
percent of the total licensed building area during the first half of
2026, while existing buildings accounted for the remaining 42.5
percent.

The total licensed area for new buildings and additions to existing
structures declined by 7.6 percent to around 2.80 million square
meters, compared with approximately 3.03 million square meters during
the same period last year.

The DoS defines an existing building as a structure constructed in
previous years without a license and subsequently licensed during the
month in which the data were collected. An addition to an existing
building refers to a license issued for new construction added to an
existing licensed structure.

//Petra// RZ