Despite a 1.4% increase in the total floor area of buildings nationwide last year, the areas for new building permits, starts, and completions all saw declines. The area for apartment construction dropped by 21% compared to the previous year, with rural areas experiencing a decrease of over 34%.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on September 30, the total number of buildings in the country reached 7,438,642 at the end of last year, an increase of 17,039 (0.2%) from the previous year. The total floor area grew by 60,042,000 square meters (1.4%) to 4,375,503,000 square meters. Buildings in the metropolitan area accounted for 2,077,588, while those in rural areas totaled 5,361,054.
In contrast, the areas for building permits, starts, and completions decreased last year. The area for permits was 114,821,000 square meters, down 8.4% from the previous year, while the area for construction starts fell by 9.6% to 82,354,000 square meters. The area for completions decreased by 15.4% to 10,036,000 square meters.
While the area for permits in the metropolitan area increased by 4% to 59,149,000 square meters, rural areas saw an 18.7% decline to 55,672,000 square meters. The area for construction starts rose by 0.9% in the metropolitan area, but rural areas experienced a 19.8% drop. Completions decreased by 16.4% in the metropolitan area and 14.4% in rural areas.
Last year, the area for apartment permits fell by 4.9%, while starts decreased by 21% and completions dropped by 17.3%. The area for apartment permits in the metropolitan area increased by 13.8%, but rural areas saw an 18.5% decline. The area for construction starts in the metropolitan area decreased by 9.1%, while rural areas experienced a 34.1% drop.
The proportion of aging buildings has increased. Last year, buildings that had been approved for use for over 30 years accounted for 46.3% of the total, up 1.9 percentage points from 44.4% the previous year. Among residential buildings, the proportion over 30 years old exceeded half at 55.5%. In rural areas, 58.5% of residential buildings were over 30 years old, compared to 47.3% in the metropolitan area.
The growth rate of the total number of buildings nationwide has decreased from around 1% in 2016-2017 to just 0.2% last year. During the same period, the growth rate of total floor area fell from 2.1% in 2024 to 1.4% last year. Over the past decade, the average annual growth rate for the number of buildings was 0.6%, while the floor area grew by 2.3%.
By usage, residential buildings accounted for the largest share of total floor area at 46.1%, or 2,015,492,000 square meters. Commercial buildings followed at 22%, or 964,609,000 square meters. The growth rate of floor area compared to the previous year was highest for industrial buildings at 1.7%, while residential buildings saw a 1.4% increase.
Among residential buildings, the floor area of apartments accounted for 1,316,706,000 square meters, or 65.3% of the total. This was followed by single-family homes at 16.5%, multi-family homes at 8.5%, multi-unit dwellings at 6.6%, and row houses at 2.3%. Over the past five years, the number and floor area of apartments have increased by an average of 2% and 2.5%, respectively, while the number of single-family and multi-family homes has decreased by an average of 0.2% each.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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