Khaberni - The Department of Statistics released its monthly report on construction activity and building permits in the Kingdom, where the total area of licensed buildings during the year 2025 amounted to 10.26 million square meters, compared with 9.03 million square meters for the same period in 2024, an increase of 13.6 percent.
The total number of building permits issued in the Kingdom reached 26,717 permits, compared with 23,902 permits during the same period in 2024, an increase of 11.8 percent.
It is concluded from the faster rate of increase in licensed areas compared to the number of permits that there is an expansion in the building area per permit in 2025 compared to the year 2024.
On a monthly basis, the licensed areas increased from 0.902 million square meters in December 2024 to 1.140 million square meters in December 2025, a monthly growth rate of 26.4 percent.
In terms of licensing purposes, the General Statistics Department survey indicated that the licensed areas for residential purposes amounted to 8.01 million square meters, compared with 7.12 million square meters during the same period in 2024, an increase of 12.5 percent, while the area of buildings licensed for non-residential purposes was about 2.24 million square meters, compared with about 1.91 million square meters during the same period in 2024, an increase of 17.3 percent, and it is also concluded that Jordanians are accelerating building for residential purposes faster than obtaining licenses for non-residential purposes.
Thus, the area of buildings licensed for residential purposes accounted for 77.7 percent of the total licensed building area, and 22.3 percent for non-residential purposes.
At the regional level, the central region accounted for 71.7 percent of the total licensed building area in the Kingdom in 2025, an increase of 7.2 percent, while the northern region's share was 20.3 percent, a decrease of 11.7 percent, and the southern region was 8 percent, a decrease of 20.8 percent compared with the same period in 2024.
As for the relative distribution of licensed areas for residential purposes, the capital governorate recorded the highest percentage at 13.3 percent, with an area amounting to 0.920 square meters per individual, while the Zarqa governorate recorded the lowest percentage of the relative distribution of the share of new licensed residential areas, where it was 4.4 percent, with an area amounting to 0.304 square meters per individual in 2025.
The licensed area for new buildings and additions to existing buildings accounted for 62.6 percent of the total licensed building area in 2025, while the area licensed for existing buildings accounted for 37.4 percent.
The total licensed area for new buildings and additions to existing buildings was about 6.4 million square meters, compared with about 5.7 million square meters during the same period in 2024, an increase of 12.3 percent.
It should be noted that the Department of Statistics, through the monthly census of building permits, provides data on the number of building permits, the licensed building area, and types of building uses in the Kingdom by governorate, with the aim of providing planners, policymakers, and decision-makers with indicators about an important part of the construction sector, which is construction activity, while government spending on building projects, roads, infrastructure, and others forms the other complementary part of this sector and is covered through other surveys, except for government projects which are licensed by the licensing authorities where they are included in this census, and data on licenses are collected through licensing agencies which are represented in the Amman Municipality, municipalities, district joint committees, the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority, and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority.
Building permit indicators reflect the actual reality of construction activity because the license most likely means the actual commencement of construction, while design contracts and engineering plans relied upon by other entities represent future plans for construction activity and a stage of licensing that may not be completed.
