321,045
Registered population
That puts Ibra at 7 of 11 on the official table.
Back to Ash Sharqiyah North
Ibra · Topic file
Is Ibra 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 Ibra, the honest read comes down to registered population and building permits.
3,039
Building permits
That puts Ibra at 6 of 11 on the official table.
The numbers
Where Ibra stands today, chart by chart
Registered population
Registered population by governorate in 2025.
NCSI Statistical Year Book 2026, Population, Area and Population Density by Governorates.
Building permits
New and renewed building permits by governorate in 2025.
NCSI Statistical Year Book 2026, Table 7-3.
The trend over time
How Ibra got here
Building permits
Building permits issued since 2020. One of the clearest signals of how busy — or how quiet — local construction actually is.
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.
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
- Ibra is showing 321,045 on registered population. That puts Ibra at 7 of 11 on the official table.
- Ibra is showing 3,039 on building permits. That puts Ibra at 6 of 11 on the official table.
- MOHUP's strategy for Ash Sharqiyah North revolves around Ibra as an applied-technology city, supported by advanced manufacturing, education, food-industry activity in Sinaw and specialized camel-related industries in Bidiyah. 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 Ibra is being measured against
Population, permits and whether the place is actually being built fast enough for the role it has been handed.
MOHUP's strategy for Ash Sharqiyah North revolves around Ibra as an applied-technology city, supported by advanced manufacturing, education, food-industry activity in Sinaw and specialized camel-related industries in Bidiyah.
- Ibra is meant to become a nationally relevant centre of applied technology and tech-engineering.
- Sinaw is expected to strengthen its role in food processing, trade and visitor activity.
- Bidiyah is assigned a niche but distinct role around camel industries, tourism and related economic activity.
Related topic files
Five more ways into the Ash Sharqiyah North 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.
Ash Sharqiyah North topic file
Capital deployment
How much money is actually being committed, and whether the property market is picking up the signal.
Ash Sharqiyah North topic file
Jobs and enterprise
The jobs and businesses that show whether the governorate has a working economy, or just a project list.
Ash Sharqiyah North topic file
Tourism and place economy
Hotels, occupancy, and whether the place is becoming a real destination or just adding rooms.
Ash Sharqiyah North topic file
Human capability and essential services
Whether schools and hospitals are keeping up — the simplest read on whether people can build a life here.
Ash Sharqiyah North topic file
Infrastructure and utilities
Roads, water and the quiet base layer that usually decides whether any of the rest of it actually works.