It is situated on the central ridge running through the West Bank and is 860 meters (2,820 ft) above sea level, covering an area of 22.4 square kilometers (8.6 sq mi).

Because of its location Al-Bireh served as an economic crossroad between the north and south, along the caravan route between Jerusalem and Nablus.

Since the Oslo Accords, Bireh has been governed by the Palestinian Authority and now serves as a significant administrative center, hosting various governmental and non-governmental organizations.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the city had a population of approximately 45,975 in the 2017 census.

[6] In the Hellenistic period, it was also known as Berea or Beroth, and Seleucid general Bacchides camped there in 161 BCE before attacking Judas Maccabaeus's forces at Elasa.

[9][14][15] The latter two buildings were built by the Knights Templar in 1146 and belonged to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.Benjamin of Tudela and Isthori Haparchi described it as a large village.

[6] The Ayyubids under Saladin drove away the Crusaders from Birra when they reconquered interior Palestine after the Battle of Hattin in 1187, and completely demolished the town.

The Ayyubids built a mosque in the town dedicated to Umar ibn al-Khattab adjacent to the church ruins.

[18] In the spring of 1697, Henry Maundrell noted at Al Bireh, which he called Beer, the remains of a church, which he wrote was built by Empress Helena.

[23] In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Bireh as a good-sized village, with "fairly well built" houses.

Besides the governor's headquarters, it also hosts a considerable number of governmental, non-governmental, and private organizations, including the Ministries of Transportation, Supply, Information, Public Works and Higher Education,[citation needed] as well as the Palestine Broadcasting Corporation and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

[36] Due to its proximity with Ramallah, the cities form a single constituency for elections to the Palestinian National Authority.

In 2010, a public square in al-Bireh was dedicated to the memory of Dalal Mughrabi, leader of an attack that killed 38 Israeli civilians, including 13 children, in 1978.

[45] In 2010, the Jerusalem Fund, National Arab American Medical Association Foundation and Physicians for Peace dedicated the Palestine Diabetes Institute in al-Bireh.

[50] Al Bireh Youth Foundation is the most prominent sports club in the city, mostly famous for its football teams and ancient scouts association.