Back to Al Buraymi

Al Buraymi · Topic file

Is Al Buraymi building fast enough for the role it has been handed?

A spatial plan only becomes real when permits and settlements start lining up with the role the governorate has been given. Until then, it is still just a map. For Al Buraymi, the honest read comes down to registered population and building permits.

135,509

Registered population

That puts Al Buraymi at 9 of 11 on the official table.

749

Building permits

That puts Al Buraymi at 9 of 11 on the official table.

The numbers

Where Al Buraymi stands today, chart by chart

Registered population

Registered population by governorate in 2025.

Ranking chart showing registered population across Oman's governorates, with Al Buraymi highlighted.0383,122766,2431,149,3651,532,486Muscat1,532,486Al Batinah North939,746Al Batinah South585,794Ad Dakhiliyah570,269Dhofar532,897Ash Sharqiyah South374,962Ash Sharqiyah North321,045Adh Dhahirah246,823Al Buraymi135,509Al Wusta64,024Musandam56,002

NCSI Statistical Year Book 2026, Population, Area and Population Density by Governorates.

Building permits

New and renewed building permits by governorate in 2025.

Ranking chart showing building permits across Oman's governorates, with Al Buraymi highlighted.02,0494,0976,1468,194Al Batinah South8,194Al Batinah North7,179Ad Dakhiliyah5,993Muscat5,854Ash Sharqiyah South3,201Ash Sharqiyah North3,039Dhofar2,831Adh Dhahirah2,345Al Buraymi749Musandam610Al Wusta345

NCSI Statistical Year Book 2026, Table 7-3.

The trend over time

How Al Buraymi got here

Building permits

Building permits issued since 2020. One of the clearest signals of how busy — or how quiet — local construction actually is.

Time-series chart showing building permits for Al Buraymi using only official governorate data.5065996927858772020202120222023202420252020: 6702025: 749Official actual

2020–2024: Table 7-3, Statistical Year Book 2025 (Issue 53). 2025: Table 7-3, Statistical Year Book 2026 (Issue 54).

Population projection

NCSI's official population projection by governorate, year by year from 2020 to 2040 — the clearest long-range planning curve currently in the public record.

Time-series chart showing population projection for Al Buraymi using only official governorate data.117,170140,029162,887185,746208,604202020252030203520402020: 125,7422030: 161,0432040: 197,175Official projection

Annual 2020–2040 line: NCSI population projection dataset. MOHUP's Urban Strategy 2040 sets out each governorate's intended growth path alongside it.

These are projections, not targets. Treat them as a pressure test for housing, services, land and infrastructure needs over the next 15 years — not as commitments.

Reading the charts

What the latest tables are really saying

  • Al Buraymi is showing 135,509 on registered population. That puts Al Buraymi at 9 of 11 on the official table.
  • Al Buraymi is showing 749 on building permits. That puts Al Buraymi at 9 of 11 on the official table.
  • The MOHUP strategy frames Al Buraymi around self-sufficiency, cross-border opportunity, green technology, and food-security-linked growth. For that to actually work, building has to concentrate in the right places — not just spread across more empty plots.

Why this file matters

The strategy Al Buraymi is being measured against

Population, permits and whether the place is actually being built fast enough for the role it has been handed.

The MOHUP strategy frames Al Buraymi around self-sufficiency, cross-border opportunity, green technology, and food-security-linked growth. Al Buraymi city is the main anchor, while Mahadah and As Sunaynah are meant to support mining, livestock, dairy and tourism activity.

  • The governorate is meant to use its position next to neighboring markets as a structural advantage.
  • Green technology is not peripheral in the official story; it is treated as a local differentiator and employment anchor.
  • Secondary centres are expected to carry distinct roles in mining, dairy, livestock and desert tourism.

Related topic files

Five more ways into the Al Buraymi execution map

These linked files cover the other live tests in the same governorate, so the numbers on capital, jobs, services, tourism, utilities, and urban buildout can be read together instead of in isolation.