Regarding the purposes of licensing, the areas of buildings licensed for residential purposes increased by 12%, reaching about 5.6 million square meters, compared to 5 million square meters during the same period in 2025, while areas licensed for non-residential purposes decreased by 14.5%, reaching 1.24 million square meters, compared to 1.45 million square meters.
Areas licensed for residential purposes accounted for 81.8% of the total licensed areas, compared to 18.2% for non-residential purposes.
At the regional level, the Central Region accounted for 72.5% of the total licensed building area in the Kingdom, an increase of 1.4 percentage points compared to the same period in 2025, followed by the Northern Region at 21.7%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points, while the Southern Region's share reached 5.8%, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
Regarding the relative distribution of building areas licensed for residential purposes by governorate and population, the Capital Governorate recorded the highest per capita share of new licensed areas, at 0.666 square meters, followed by Balqa Governorate at 0.630 square meters, then Jerash at 0.515 square meters, Irbid at 0.410 square meters, and Aqaba at 0.373 square meters.
The per capita share in Tafilah reached 0.336 square meters, in Ajloun 0.302 square meters, Mafraq 0.300 square meters, Madaba 0.297 square meters, Ma'an 0.242 square meters, and Karak 0.228 square meters, while Zarqa recorded the lowest share at 0.108 square meters per capita.
According to the data, the total area of buildings licensed for residential purposes during the first eight months of 2026 reached about 5.57 million square meters, out of a total population of 11.94 million people according to the figures in the report.
The area licensed for new buildings and additions to existing buildings accounted for 59.5% of the total licensed building area during the same period, while the area of existing buildings accounted for 40.5%.
The area of new buildings and additions to existing buildings reached about 4 million square meters, with no significant change compared to the same period in 2025.
The Department of Statistics explains that the monthly building permit census provides data on the number of permits, licensed building areas, and types of building uses in the Kingdom by governorate, with the aim of providing planners, policymakers, and decision-makers with indicators on construction activity as one of the components of the construction sector.
The census covers building permits issued by the Greater Amman Municipality and municipalities, in addition to government projects licensed by licensing authorities, while other surveys cover government spending on building, road, and infrastructure projects.
The department points out that building permit indicators reflect the actual reality of construction activity to a greater degree, as a permit likely means the actual commencement of construction, whereas design contracts and engineering plans represent future plans for construction activity and a stage of the licensing process that may not be completed.
