List of tallest buildings facts for kids

The 828-metre (2,717 ft) tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai has been the tallest building since 2009. The Burj Khalifa has been classified as megatall.

A diagram showing the tallest buildings as of 2024

This article lists the world's tallest buildings. When we talk about tall buildings, we mean structures like skyscrapers. These are enclosed buildings with many floors where people can live or work. To be on this list, a building must be at least 350 metres (1,150 ft) (about 1,150 feet) tall. This means we don't include other tall structures like radio towers or observation towers, which aren't used for living or working in the same way.

A Look Back: History of Tall Buildings

Historically, the tallest man-made structure for a very long time was the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. It held this record for over 3,800 years! Later, in 1311, Lincoln Cathedral in England became the tallest. The Strasbourg Cathedral in France was the world's tallest building from 1439 until 1874.

The very first building that many consider a true skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building. It was built in Chicago in 1885 and stood 138 ft (42.1 m) tall. For most of the 20th century, the United States had the world's tallest buildings. But in 1998, the Petronas Towers in Malaysia took the title. After that, Taipei 101 in Taiwan became the tallest in 2004, and then the Burj Khalifa in Dubai took the lead in 2009. In recent years, many new super-tall skyscrapers have been built in the Middle East, China, and Southeast Asia.

How Do We Measure Tall Buildings?

It might seem simple to say which building is the tallest, but it's actually a bit tricky! The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is a group that decides how to measure buildings. They set the rules and keep a list of the 100 tallest completed buildings. The CTBUH says the Burj Khalifa is the tallest at 828 m (2,717 ft).

In 1996, there was a big debate about whether the Petronas Towers or the Sears Tower was taller. To solve this, the CTBUH created different ways to measure buildings:

Measuring to the Top: Architectural Height

This is the most common way to measure. It includes the building's main structure and any spires that are part of its design. A spire is like a tall, pointy top that makes the building look complete. Antennas, which can be added or removed easily, are usually not counted in this measurement. For example, the Petronas Towers are taller than the Willis Tower by this rule because their spires are considered part of their design, even though the Willis Tower's antennas reach higher.

Measuring to the Very Tip: Pinnacle Height

This measurement includes absolutely everything on top of the building, even antennas, flagpoles, or other parts that aren't really part of the building's main design. This is useful for things like air traffic control, but it can change easily if an antenna is added or removed.

Measuring to Where People Live: Occupied Floors

This measures the height to the highest floor that people can actually use every day. This means the highest office, apartment, or observation deck. For example, the Bank of Manhattan Building once argued it was taller than the Chrysler Building because its highest usable floor was much higher, even if the Chrysler Building's decorative spire reached higher overall.

Today, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building no matter which of these rules you use, though the difference in height is smaller when only counting occupied floors.

The World's Tallest Buildings Today

As of 1 July 2025, this list includes 95 buildings that are at least 350 m (1,150 ft) tall. These buildings are either fully completed or have reached their full height structurally and are almost finished.

Did you know that almost half of these super-tall buildings are in China? It's a real boom! Some buildings that used to be the tallest in the world are still on this list. For example, the North Tower of the original World Trade Center was 417 m (1,368 ft) tall before it was destroyed in 2001. If it were still standing, it would be ranked around 38th or 39th today.

Clear

Denotes building that is or was once the tallest in the world

	Name	Height		Floors	Image	City	Country	Year	Comments	Ref
		m	ft
1	Burj Khalifa	828.0 m	2,717 ft	163 (+ 2 below ground)		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2010	Tallest building in the world since 2009
2	Merdeka 118	678.9 m	2,227 ft	118 (+ 5 below ground)		Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	2024	Tallest building in Southeast Asia and Malaysia
3	Shanghai Tower	632.0 m	2,073 ft	128 (+ 5 below ground)		Shanghai	China	2015	Tallest building in East Asia and China and contains the highest luxury hotel in the world; Tallest twisted building
4	The Clock Towers	601.0 m	1,972 ft	120 (+ 3 below ground)		Mecca	Saudi Arabia	2012	Tallest building in Saudi Arabia, tallest clock tower and contains the highest museum in the world
5	Ping An International Finance Centre	599.1 m	1,966 ft	115 (+ 5 below ground)		Shenzhen	China	2017
6	Lotte World Tower	554.5 m	1,819 ft	123 (+ 6 below ground)		Seoul	South Korea	2017	Tallest building in South Korea and the OECD
7	One World Trade Center	541.3 m	1,776 ft	94 (+ 5 below ground)		New York City	United States	2014	Tallest building outside of Asia; tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, the Americas, North America and the USA; tallest building on an island; tallest building in the world with fewer than 100 floors
8	Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre	530.0	1,740	111 (+ 5 below ground)		Guangzhou	China	2016
	Tianjin CTF Finance Centre			97 (+ 4 below ground)		Tianjin		2019
10	CITIC Tower	527.7 m	1,731 ft	109 (+ 8 below ground)		Beijing		2018
11	Taipei 101	508.0 m	1,667 ft	101 (+ 5 below ground)		Taipei	Taiwan	2004	Tallest building in the world from 2004 till 2009; tallest building in Taiwan
12	Shanghai World Financial Center	492.0 m	1,614 ft	101 (+ 3 below ground)		Shanghai	China	2008
13	International Commerce Centre	484.0 m	1,588 ft	108 (+ 4 below ground)		Hong Kong	Hong Kong	2010	Tallest building in Hong Kong
14	Wuhan Greenland Center	475.6 m	1,560 ft	101 (+ 6 below ground)		Wuhan	China	2023
15	Central Park Tower	472.4 m	1,550 ft	98 (+ 4 below ground)		New York City	United States	2021	Tallest residential building
16	Lakhta Center	462.0 m	1,516 ft	87 (+ 3 below ground)		Saint Petersburg	Russia	2019	Tallest building in Europe and Russia; Northernmost skyscraper in the world
17	Landmark 81	461.2 m	1,513 ft	81 (+ 3 below ground)		Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	2018	Tallest building in Vietnam
18	Chongqing International Land-Sea Center	458.0 m	1,503 ft	98 (+ 4 below ground)		Chongqing	China	2024
19	The Exchange 106	453.6 m	1,488 ft	95 (+ 6 below ground)		Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	2019
20	Changsha IFS Tower T1	452.1 m	1,483 ft	94 (+ 5 below ground)		Changsha	China	2018
21	Petronas Tower 1	451.9	1,483	88 (+ 5 below ground)		Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	1998	Tallest building in the world from 1998 till 2004; tallest building built in the 20th century; Tallest twin buildings
	Petronas Tower 2
23	Zifeng Tower	450.0	1,480	89 (+ 5 below ground)		Nanjing	China	2010
	Suzhou IFS			95 (+ 5 below ground)		Suzhou		2019
25	Wuhan Center	443.1 m	1,454 ft	88 (+ 4 below ground)		Wuhan		2019
26	Willis Tower	442.1 m	1,450 ft	108 (+ 3 below ground)		Chicago	United States	1974	Tallest building in the world from 1974 till 1998 as Sears Tower
27	KK100	441.8 m	1,449 ft	98 (+ 4 below ground)		Shenzhen	China	2011
28	Guangzhou International Finance Center	438.6 m	1,439 ft	101 (+ 4 below ground)		Guangzhou		2010
29	111 West 57th Street	435.3 m	1,428 ft	84 (+ 2 below ground)		New York City	United States	2021	Slenderest skyscraper in the world
30	Shandong International Financial Center	428 m	1,404 ft	88 (+ 4 below ground)		Jinan	China	2023
31	One Vanderbilt	427.0 m	1,401 ft	62 (+ 4 below ground)		New York City	United States	2020
32	Nanjing Financial City Phase II Plot C Tower 1	426	1,398	88		Nanjing	China	2025
33	432 Park Avenue	425.7 m	1,397 ft	85 (+ 3 below ground)		New York City	United States	2015
34	Marina 101	425.0 m	1,394 ft	101 (+ 6 below ground)		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2017
35	Trump International Hotel and Tower	423.2 m	1,388 ft	98 (+ 2 below ground)		Chicago	United States	2009
36	JPMorgan Chase World Headquarters	423	1,388	60		New York City	United States	2025
37	Minying International Trade Center 1	422.6 m	1,386 ft	85 (+ 3 below ground)		Dongguan	China	2021
38	Jin Mao Tower	420.5 m	1,380 ft	88 (+ 3 below ground)		Shanghai		1999
39	Princess Tower	413.4 m	1,356 ft	101 (+ 6 below ground)		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2012
40	Al Hamra Tower	412.6 m	1,354 ft	80 (+ 3 below ground)		Kuwait City	Kuwait	2011	Tallest building in Kuwait
41	Two International Finance Centre	412.0 m	1,352 ft	88 (+ 6 below ground)		Hong Kong	Hong Kong	2003
42	Haeundae LCT The Sharp Landmark Tower	411.6 m	1,350 ft	101 (+ 5 below ground)		Busan	South Korea	2019
43	Ningbo Central Plaza	409	1,342	80		Ningbo	China	2024
44	Guangxi China Resources Tower	402.7 m	1,321 ft	86 (+ 3 below ground)		Nanning		2020
45	Guiyang International Financial Center T1	401.0 m	1,316 ft	79 (+ 5 below ground)		Guiyang		2020
46	Iconic Tower	393.8 m	1,292 ft	77 (+ 2 below ground)		New Administrative Capital	Egypt	2023	Tallest building in Africa and Egypt
47	China Resources Tower	392.5 m	1,288 ft	68 (+ 5 below ground)		Shenzhen	China	2018
48	23 Marina	392.4 m	1,287 ft	88 (+ 4 below ground)		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2012
49	CITIC Plaza	390.2 m	1,280 ft	80 (+ 2 below ground)		Guangzhou	China	1996
50	Citymark Centre	388.3 m	1,274 ft	70 (+ 7 below ground)		Shenzhen		2022
51	Shum Yip Upperhills Tower 1	388.1 m	1,273 ft	80 (+ 3 below ground)				2020
52	30 Hudson Yards	387.1 m	1,270 ft	73 (+ 1 below ground)		New York City	United States	2019
53	Public Investment Fund Tower	385.0 m	1,263 ft	72 (+ 4 below ground)		Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	2021
54	Shun Hing Square	384.0 m	1,260 ft	69 (+ 3 below ground)		Shenzhen	China	1996
55	Eton Place Dalian Tower 1	383.2 m	1,257 ft	80 (+ 4 below ground)		Dalian		2016
56	Autograph Tower	382.9 m	1,256 ft	75 (+ 6 below ground)		Jakarta	Indonesia	2022	Tallest building in Indonesia. Tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere.
57	Logan Century Center 1	381.3 m	1,251 ft	82 (+ 4 below ground)		Nanning	China	2018
58	Burj Mohammed bin Rashid	381.2 m	1,251 ft	88 (+ 5 below ground)		Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	2014
59	Empire State Building	381.0 m	1,250 ft	102 (+ 1 below ground)		New York City	United States	1931	Tallest building in the world from 1931 till 1972; tallest pre-WWII building
60	Elite Residence	380.5 m	1,248 ft	87 (+ 4 below ground)		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2012
61	Riverview Plaza	376.0 m	1,234 ft	73 (+ 3 below ground)		Wuhan	China	2021
62	Guangdong Business Center	376	1,234	60		Guangzhou		2024
63	Dabaihui Plaza	375.6 m	1,232 ft	70 (+ 4 below ground)		Shenzhen		2021
64	Central Plaza	373.9 m	1,227 ft	78 (+ 3 below ground)		Hong Kong	Hong Kong	1992	Contains the highest church in the world inside a skyscraper
65	Federation Tower (East Tower)	373.7 m	1,226 ft	93 (+ 4 below ground)		Moscow	Russia	2016
66	Hengfeng Guiyang Center Tower 1	373.5 m	1,225 ft	77 (+ 5 below ground)		Guiyang	China
67	Dalian International Trade Center	370.2 m	1,215 ft	86 (+ 7 below ground)		Dalian		2019
68	Shanghai International Trade Center Tower 1	370	1,214	75		Shanghai		2025
69	Address Boulevard	370.0 m	1,214 ft	73 (+ 3 below ground)		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2017
70	Haitian Center Tower 2	368.9 m	1,210 ft	73 (+ 6 below ground)		Qingdao	China	2021
71	Golden Eagle Tiandi Tower A	368.1 m	1,208 ft	77 (+ 4 below ground)		Nanjing		2019
72	Bank of China Tower	367.4 m	1,205 ft	72 (+ 4 below ground)		Hong Kong	Hong Kong	1990
73	Bank of America Tower	365.8 m	1,200 ft	55 (+ 3 below ground)		New York City	United States	2009
74	Ciel Tower	365.5	1,199	81		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2025	Tallest Hotel in the world
75	St. Regis Chicago	362.9 m	1,191 ft	101 (+ 5 below ground)		Chicago	United States	2020	Tallest structure in the world designed by a woman
76	Almas Tower	360	1,180	68 (+ 5 below ground)		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2008
	Ping An Finance Center Tower 1			62 (+ 3 below ground)		Jinan	China	2023
78	Huiyun Center	359.2	1,178	80		Shenzhen		2023
79	Hanking Center	358.9 m	1,177 ft	65 (+ 5 below ground)		Shenzhen		2018
80	Greenland Group Suzhou Center	358.0 m	1,175 ft	77 (+ 3 below ground)		Suzhou		2024
81	Gevora Hotel	356.3 m	1,169 ft	75 (+ 2 below ground)		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2017
82	Galaxy World Tower 1	356.0	1,168	71 (+ 5 below ground)		Shenzhen	China	2023
	Galaxy World Tower 2
	Il Primo Tower	356.0 m	1,168 ft	79		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2022
85	JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Tower 1	355.4	1,166	82 (+ 2 below ground)				2012
	JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Tower 2							2013
87	Emirates Office Tower	354.6 m	1,163 ft	54				2000
88	Raffles City Chongqing T3N	354.5	1,163	79 (+ 3 below ground)		Chongqing	China	2019
	Raffles City Chongqing T4N			74 (+ 3 below ground)
89	OKO – South Tower	354.2 m	1,162 ft	90 (+ 2 below ground)		Moscow	Russia	2015
90	CBRT Tower	352.0 m	1,155 ft	59		Istanbul	Turkey	2024
91	The Marina Torch	352.0 m	1,155 ft	86 (+ 4 below ground)		Dubai	United Arab Emirates	2011
92	Forum 66 Tower 1	350.6 m	1,150 ft	68 (+ 4 below ground)		Shenyang	China	2015
93	The Pinnacle	350.3 m	1,149 ft	60 (+ 6 below ground)		Guangzhou		2012
94	Xi'an Glory International Financial Center	350.0 m	1,148 ft	75 (+ 4 below ground)		Xi'an		2021

Future Giants: Buildings Under Construction

Many amazing new buildings are being built around the world. Here are some of the tallest ones that are currently under construction and will be over 350 m tall.

Rank	Building	Planned architectural height	Floors	Planned completion	Country	City	Ref.
1	Oblisco Capitale	1,000 m (3,300 ft)	210	2030	Egypt	New Administrative Capital
2	Jeddah Tower	1,000 m (3,300 ft)	167+	2028	Saudi Arabia	Jeddah
3	Burj Azizi	725 m (2,379 ft)	131	2028	UAE	Dubai
4	Burj Binghatti Jacob & Co Residences	595 m (1,952 ft)	105	2026		Dubai
5	Senna Tower	544 m (1,784 ft)	154	2030	Brazil	Balneário Camboriú
6	Six Senses Residences Dubai Marina	517 m (1,696 ft)	125	2028	UAE	Dubai
7	The Line	500 m (1,640 ft.)	?	2030	Saudi Arabia	Neom
8	China International Silk Road Center	498 m (1,634 ft)	101	2025	China	Xi'an
9	Panda Tower - Tianfu Center	488.9 m (1,604 ft)	95	2026		Chengdu
10	Rizhao Center	485 m (1,591 ft)	94	2028		Rizhao
11	North Bund Tower	480 m (1,575 ft)	97	2027		Shanghai
12	Torre Rise	475 m (1,559 ft)	88	2026	Mexico	Monterrey
13	Wuhan CTF Centre	475 m (1,558 ft)	84	2026	China	Wuhan
14	Suzhou Center North Tower	470 m (1,540 ft)	?	2024		Suzhou
15	Aeternitas Tower	450 m (1,480 ft)	106		UAE	Dubai
16	China Resources Land Center	436.1 m (1,431 ft)	98	2026	China	Dongguan
17	Haikou Tower 1	428 m (1,404 ft)	93	2027	China	Haikou
18	Wuhan Yangtze River Center Tower	400 m (1,300 ft)	82	2025		Wuhan
19	Mukaab	400 m (1,300 ft)		2030	Saudi Arabia	Riyadh
20	Hangzhou West Railway Station Hub Tower 1	399.8 m (1,312 ft)	83		China	Hangzhou
21	China Merchants Group West Headquarters	396 m (1,299 ft)	82			Chengdu
22	Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base Tower C-1	394 m (1,293 ft)	78	2027		Shenzhen
23	China Merchants Bank Global Headquarters	393 m (1,289 ft)	74	2026
24	Haiyun Plaza Tower 1	390 m (1,280 ft)	86	2024		Rizhao
25	Guohua Financial Center Tower 1	388 m (1,273 ft)	79			Wuhan
26	Tour F	385.8 m (1,266 ft)	64	2026	Ivory Coast	Abidjan
27	Torch Tower	385 m (1,263 ft)	62	2028	Japan	Tokyo
28	Shekou Prince Bay Tower	380 m (1,250 ft)	70		China	Shenzhen
29	Shenzhen Luohu Friendship Trading Centre	379.9 m (1,246 ft)	83	2026
30	China Merchants Prince Bay Tower	374 m (1,227 ft)	59	2028
31	Lucheng Square	369 m (1,211 ft)	75			Wenzhou
32	Taipei Twin Tower 1	369 m (1,211 ft)	74	2027	Taiwan	Taipei
33	Hengli Global Operations Headquarters Tower 1	369 m (1,211 ft)	?	2024	China	Suzhou
34	Naga Tower 1	358 m (1,175 ft)	70	2026	Cambodia	Phnom Penh
35	City Tower 1	358 m (1,175 ft)	94	2025	UAE	Dubai
36	Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base Tower C-2	355.7 m (1,167 ft)	68	2027	China	Shenzhen
37	Guohong Center	350 m (1,150 ft)	71	2025		Wenzhou
	China Resources Huafu Tower			2025		Shenzhen
	Poly Liangxi Plaza					Foshan

Giants on Hold: Buildings Paused

Sometimes, building projects are put on hold after they've already started. Here are some very tall buildings that are currently paused.

Rank	Building	Planned architectural height	Floors	Planned completion	Country	City	Ref.
1	Tower M	700 m (2,297 ft)	145		Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur
2	Goldin Finance 117	597 m (1,959 ft)	117		China	Tianjin
3	Greenland Jinmao International Financial Center	499.8 m (1,640 ft)	102			Nanjing
4	Suzhou Zhongnan Center	499.2 m (1,638 ft)	103			Suzhou
5	HeXi Yuzui Tower A	498.8 m (1,636 ft)	84			Nanjing
6	Chushang Building	475 m (1,558 ft)	111			Wuhan
7	Fosun Bund Center T1	470 m (1,540 ft)
8	Chengdu Greenland Tower	468 m (1,535 ft)	101			Chengdu
9	Evergrande City Light	453.5 m (1,488 ft)	88			Ningbo
10	Tianshan Gate of the World Plots 27 and 28	450 m (1,480 ft)	106			Shijiazhuang
11	One Bangkok	436.1 m (1,431 ft)	92		Thailand	Bangkok
12	Burj Almasa	432 m (1,417 ft)	93	2027	Saudi Arabia	Jeddah
13	Greenland Center Tower 1	428 m (1,404 ft)			China	Kunming
14	Dongfeng Plaza Landmark Tower	407 m (1,335 ft)	100
15	Icon Towers 1	384 m (1,260 ft)	77		Indonesia	Jakarta
16	Greenland Star City Light Tower	379.9 m (1,246 ft)	83		China	Changsha
17	Ping An IFC	373 m (1,224 ft)				Nanchang
18	Fosun Bund Center T2	356 m (1,168 ft)				Wuhan
19	Global Port Tower 1	350 m (1,150 ft)				Lanzhou
	Global Port Tower 2
	Guowei ZY Plaza		62			Zhuhai

Tallest Buildings by Continent

Here's a list of the tallest completed buildings on each continent. It shows how tall they are and where they are located.

Continent	Building	Height	Floor count	Completed	Country	City
Asia	Burj Khalifa	828 m (2,717 ft)	163	2010	United Arab Emirates	Dubai
North America	One World Trade Center	541.3 m (1,776 ft)	94	2014	United States	New York City
Europe	Lakhta Center	462 m (1,516 ft)	86	2018	Russia	Saint Petersburg
Africa	Iconic Tower	393.8 m (1,292 ft)	79	2023	Egypt	New Administrative Capital
Oceania	Q1	323 m (1,060 ft)	78	2005	Australia	Gold Coast
South America	Gran Torre Santiago	300 m (980 ft)	64	2012	Chile	Santiago
Antarctica	Vostok Station	17.5 m (57 ft)	2	2023	Russia	-

Countries with the Most Super Tall Buildings

This list shows which countries have the most buildings on the main list of the world's tallest buildings.

Rank	Country	Number of skyscrapers on list	City(s) with most skyscrapers on list	Tallest building	Height of tallest building
1	China	47	Shenzhen	Shanghai Tower	632.0 m (2,073.5 ft)
2	United Arab Emirates	15	Dubai	Burj Khalifa	828.0 m (2,716.5 ft)
3	United States	11	New York City	One World Trade Center	541.3 m (1,776 ft)
4	Malaysia	4	Kuala Lumpur	Merdeka 118	678.9 m (2,227 ft)
	Hong Kong	4	Hong Kong	International Commerce Centre	484.0 m (1588 ft)
6	Russia	3	Moscow	Lakhta Center	462.0 m (1,515.7 ft)
7	Saudi Arabia	2	Mecca, Riyadh	The Clock Towers	601.0 m (1,971.8 ft)
	South Korea	2	Seoul, Busan	Lotte World Tower	554.5 m (1,819 ft)
9	Taiwan	1	Taipei	Taipei 101	508.0 m (1,666.7 ft)
	Vietnam	1	Ho Chi Minh City	Landmark 81	461.2 m (1,513 ft)
	Kuwait	1	Kuwait City	Al Hamra Tower	412.6 m (1,354 ft)
	Egypt	1	New Administrative Capital	Iconic Tower (Egypt)	393.8 m (1,292 ft)
	Indonesia	1	Jakarta	Autograph Tower	382.9 m (1,256 ft)
	Turkey	1	Istanbul	CBRT Tower	352.0 m (1,155 ft)

Images for kids

• 

  Tallest buildings by pinnacle height, including all masts, poles, antennae, etc. in 2014

• 

  Tallest buildings by highest occupied floor in 2022.

See Also

In Spanish: Anexo:Rascacielos más altos del mundo para niños

• List of tallest freestanding structures
• List of tallest towers
• List of supertall skyscrapers
• List of buildings with 100 floors or more
• History of the world's tallest buildings
• Skyscraper Index
• Vanity height
• List of tallest buildings in Europe
• List of tallest buildings in Asia
• List of tallest buildings in Oceania
• List of tallest buildings in North America
• List of tallest buildings in South America
• List of tallest buildings in Africa