Below is a list of tallest skyscrapers in the world.
The buildings are ranked by standard height (architectural height), with other kinds of height like roof height and total height listed for reference.
Buildings that are under construction but have already topped out or close to top out are also included. Sightseeing towers and buildings under construction that are still far from topping out are not counted.
For sightseeing towers, see tallest telecom towers. For tallest buildings under construction or proposed, see tallest future skyscraper projects.
NOTE: Because of the rapid development of skyscrapers, things are subject to change, the content below will get updated time to time, updates occur on an irregular basis, usually in response to the changes on the status of buildings, like when a new building is topped out or complete.
Last updated on November 9, 2024, please note that the content below is all based on that time.
1. Burj Khalifa
Standard height: 828 meters (2,717 feet)
Total height: 829.8 meters
Floor count: 163
Observation decks: 448 m & 555 m
Year built: 2010
Uses: Residences, Hotel, Office, Observation, Communication
Location: Dubai
Burj Khalifa has been the tallest building in the world by any measurement since its completion in 2009, it is estimated that it still can keep holding this title for the next 3 to 4 years, then it will possibly be surpassed by Dubai Creek Tower which is located at a site only miles away from it. The Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia could also surpass it if the construction work resumes.
The observation deck on Burj Khalifa is one of most visited tourist destinations in Dubai, the observatory named At The Top SKY on the 148th floor is still the tallest observation deck in the world.
2. Merdeka 118
Standard height & Total height: 678.9 meters (2,227 feet)
Roof height: 519 meters
Floor count: 118
Observation decks: 483 m & 566 m
Year built: 2024
Uses: Hotel, Office, Residences, Observation, Shopping center
Location: Kuala Lumpur
Merdeka 118 is a megatall skyscraper newly built in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The skyscraper was previously planned to be built to a height of 656 meters, to become the tallest building in Southeast Asia and the 2nd tallest building in the world, but the height turned out to be even higher than that.
There is a long spire mounted on the rooftop, it contributes a significant height to the building. Without the spire, the building would be 521 m tall. However, unlike other buildings’ spires, the spire of Merdeka 118 contains an observation deck at 566 meters high above the ground, and it will surpass the observation deck on Burj Khalifa to become the world’s highest observation deck once opened in late 2024.
3. Shanghai Tower
Standard height: 632 meters (2,073 feet)
Parapet-removed height: 583 meters Floor count: 128
Observation Deck: 552 m
Uses: Office, Observation, Hotel, Retail, Museum
Year built: 2015 Location: Shanghai
Shanghai Tower was completed in the beginning of 2015, since then it has been the tallest building in China.
Shanghai Tower has a multi-floor observation deck opened to public at its 118th and 119th floors, as of 2024 it’s the second tallest observation deck in the world, only after Burj Khalifa’s At The Top SKY. For more details check out the guide to visiting Shanghai Tower observation deck.
Since the spire of Ping An Finance Center in Shenzhen was canceled, which resulted in the building ends up being 599 meters tall (33 meters shorter than Shanghai Tower), and in April 2020, a new decree was issued to forbid skyscrapers in the country to be built over 500 meters, the planned heights of Wuhan Greenland Center, Suzhou Zhongnan Center, and Shimao Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Center are all reduced to below 500 meters from the originally planned 600+ meters, it can be sure that Shanghai Tower’s title of China’s Tallest Building will not be taken by other towers in the foreseeable future.
4. Abraj Al Bait
Standard height: 601 meters (1,971 feet) Floor count: 120
Year built: 2012 Location: Mecca
Uses: Hotel, Residences, Retail, Religious use, Telling time
This buildings complex is located in close proximity to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam.
Abraj Al Bait consists of several high-rise buildings of different sizes, the highest one of them stands 601 meters tall and is called Makkah Royal Clock Tower, it is one of the only four buildings in the world that are categorized as megatall skyscrapers. Each of the 4 sides of the clock tower has a large clock, the clocks are currently the largest in the world.
A museum occupies the clock tower’s uppermost floors, containing an outdoor observation deck, which is right below the clocks.
5. Ping An Finance Center
Standard height: 599 meters (1,965 feet) Roof height: 589 meters
Observation deck: 541 meters Floor count: 115
Year built: 2016 Location: Shenzhen
Uses: Office, Retail, Observation
Ping An Finance Center was once designed to be built to 660 meters with a spire on the top, set to become the tallest building in China, however there suddenly came out a flight issue, forcing the height restricted to be under 600 meters, so no spire was ever built atop its peak. Same thing had previously happened on Canton Tower in Guangzhou, which has a similar height, the difference is that Canton Tower’s spire was cut shorter months after the completion.
The building has an observation deck on the 116th floor, at a height of 541 meters, it’s currently the 3rd highest observation deck in the world.
6. Goldin Finance 117
Standard height & Roof height: 597 meters (1,959 feet) Floor count: 117
Year topped out: 2019
Uses: Office, Hotel, Residences, Observation, Retail
Location: Tianjin
Golden Finance 117 is still not completed, but had fully topped out in May 2019 after the installation of a diamond-shaped structure on the top of the building was completed. Although the tower is just the 6th tallest building in the world, it actually has a taller concrete core than that of any other building in the world, and it’s the world’s tallest flat-roof building.
7. Lotte World Tower
Standard height: 555 meters (1,819 feet) Floor count: 123
Year built: 2016 Location: Seoul
Uses: Office, Hotel, Observation, Residence, Retail
Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in South Korea. The tower opened to the public on April 3rd, 2017, it has a total of 123 floors above ground, a multiple-floor observatory occupies the uppermost 7 floors of the tower, by contrast, in most cases the observation decks on skyscrapers only occupy one or two floors.
For more details check out the guide to visiting Lotte World Tower observation deck.
8. One World Trade Center
Standard height: 541 meters (1,776 feet)
Roof height: 417 meters
Floor count: 104
Year built: 2014
Uses: Office, Observation, Communication
Location: New York City
One World Trade Center is the tallest building in New York City and west hemisphere. Its roof height is 417 meters, which is just same as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, but the spire is made longer, bringing its total height to 546 meters and 541 meters (1776 ft) by architectural height. This height is originated from the year of 1776 when United States Declaration of Independence was signed. Many New York skyscraper lovers complain that 1776 ft should be designed as the roof height, 417 m is a little short among today’s tallest buildings. By roof height, One World Trade Center is currently the 4th tallest building in New York City.
9. Chow Tai Fook Finance Center
Standard height: 530 meters (1739 feet)
Roof height: 530 meters
Floor count: 111
Year built: 2016
Uses: Office, Hotel, Residences
Location: Guangzhou
Briefly known as CTF Finance Center, this tower is named after its owner Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, which developed the tower via its subsidiary New World Development. It’s the first near-megatall building named after Chow Tai Fook, another same size tower also named after Chow Tai Fook was built in Tianjin in 2019, a 475m supertall tower is planned by Chow Tai Fook to be built in Wuhan.
The top floors of the building contain a hotel, which was the world’s highest hotel in 2019 and 2020, before the opening of J Hotel on Shanghai Tower.
10. Tianjin Chow Tai Fook Binhai Center
Standard height: 530 meters (1,739 feet)
Roof height: 480 meters
Floor count: 97
Year built: 2019
Uses: Office, Hotel, Residences
Location: Tianjin
Chow Tai Fook Binhai Center is the second supertall project named after Chow Tai Fook Enterprises.
The tower had fully topped out by the end of September 2017, and was complete on September 21, 2019.
The buildings listed above are the top 10 tallest buildings in the world, you might be surprised that many notable buildings you are familiar with are not listed, the worldwide rapid development of skyscrapers has made those buildings dropped out from the top 10, below are the buildings that succeed the top 10 tallest buildings with heights a bit shorter than the top 10.
11. China Zun Tower
Standard height: 528 meters (1,732 feet)
Roof height: 524 meters
Floor count: 108
Observation Deck: 503 meters
Year built: 2018
Uses: Office, Retail, Hotel, Observation
Location: Beijing
China Zun Tower is also known by its formal name CITIC Plaza, as it will largely serve as the headquarters of CITIC, a state-owned corporation. In fact the nickname China Zun Tower is more widely used, China Zun was a sort of vessel used in ancient China, the shape of China Zun Tower is inspired by China Zun. The tower structurally topped out in July 2017 and fully topped out at 528 meters one month later becoming the 10th tallest building in the world by that time. China Zun Tower was completed in October 2018, and is currently the tallest building in the capital city of China.
12. Taipei 101
Standard height: 509 meters
Roof height: 448 meters
Floor count: 101
Observation Deck: 392 m
Year built: 2004
Uses: Office, Observation, Retail, Communication, Library
Location: Taipei
Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world by architectural height from 2004 to 2009, today the tower is still the tallest building built on an earthquake zone. The appearance of the tower was inspired by the pagodas of ancient China, the main portion of the tower is comprised of 8 stacked large segments, each has 8 floors, for the number 8 is a sign of prosperity in Chinese culture.
Taipei 101 has world’s 3rd tallest outdoor observation deck, and 2 indoor observation floors right below it, a world’s largest tuned mass damper can be seen from within the observatory.
13. Shanghai World Financial Center
Standard height: 492 meters
Roof height: 492 meters
Floor count: 101
Observation Deck: 423 m, 439 m, 474 m
Year built: 2008
Uses: Office, Hotel, Observation, Retail, Restaurant
Location: Shanghai
Shanghai World Financial Center was once the tallest building in the world by roof height from 2008 to 2009, however in fact it had never been taller than Burj Khalifa, it gets that title just because of the fact that Burj Khalifa was still under construction by that time. It’s hard to believe that the tower is now out of top 10 tallest buildings in the world in less than 10 years.
The building has a series of observation decks on the uppermost floors, for more details check out the guide to visiting Shanghai World Financial Center Observatory.
14. International Commercial Center
Standard height: 484 meters Roof height: 484 meters
Floor count: 118 Observation Deck: 393 m
Year built: 2010 Location: Hong Kong
Uses: Office, Hotel, Observation, Retail
International Commercial Center is the tallest building in Hong Kong, it’s located on the Kowloon Peninsula.
The building has a total of 108 floors above ground, despite being claimed to be a 118-storey building. This is due to the fact that many floors that would have included the numbers disliked by Hong Kongers are skipped.
The 100th floor of the building is an observation deck called Sky 100, offering stunning view of Kowloon, Victoria Harbor, and Hong Kong Island. There is a Ritz-Carlton hotel occupying the building’s uppermost floors above the observation deck, the hotel was the world’s highest hotel from 2010 to 2019, before being surpassed by the hotel in Guangzhou CTF Finance Center.
15. Wuhan Greenland Center
Standard height & Roof height: 476 meters
Floor count: 97
Year built: 2022
Uses: Office, Hotel, Residences, Observation
Location: Wuhan
Wuhan Greenland Center is a supertall skyscraper being built on the waterfront of Yangtz River in Wuhan, China. It was originally planned to rise 636 meters and to become china’s tallest building, surpassing Shanghai Tower by 4 meters, not only so, the tower would have world’s highest accessible floor at 610 meters off the ground and was planned to be an observation deck, which would become the highest observation deck in the world. The tower was estimated to complete in 2019, but the construction suspended starting in early 2018 due to the city’s airspace restrictions, which forced the planned height to be scaled down to 476 meters.
16. Central Park Tower
Standard height: 472 meters
Floor count: 131
Year built: 2022
Uses: Residences, Retail
Location: New York City
Central Park Tower is a supertall residential skyscraper located near the Central Park in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The tower has overtaken the title of America’s Tallest Building by Roof Height from the Willis Tower in Chicago, it had surpassed the height of the Willis Tower in June 2019, but kept growing. The tower structurally topped out in September 2019, and completely topped out in October at the full height of 1550 ft, which is 182 ft higher than the roof of One World Trade Center in Downtown New York.
17. Lakhta Center
Standard height: 462 meters
Floor count: 86
Year built: 2019
Uses: Office, Observation, Sports Center
Location: St. Petersburg
Lakhta Center is a skyscraper in St. Petersburg, Russia, it’s the first supertall skyscraper in the city, and is currently the tallest building in Russia and Europe. The skyscraper is also regarded as the world’s northernmost skyscraper.
The Lakhta Center is developed by Gazprom, the largest gas producer in the world, the tower has become the new headquarters of the company. The tower also includes a sky deck on the top floor at a height of 357 meters.
2 taller skyscrapers are planned to be built near this tower, respectively named as Lakhta Center II and Lakhta Center III.
18. Vincom Landmark 81
Standard height & Roof height: 461.5 meters
Total height: 469.5 meters
Floor count: 81
Year built: 2018
Uses: Residential, Hotel, Observation
Location: Ho Chi Minh City
Vincom Lankmark 81 is currently the tallest building in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, it is built as the centerpiece of a high-end mixed-use urban area called Vinhomes Central Park.
The tower has a multi-story observation deck at its uppermost floors. The building had fully topped out in April 2018, and was completed in late 2018.
19. The Exchange 106
Standard height: 454 meters Floor count: 106
Year built: 2019 Location: Kuala Lumpur
Uses: Office
Previously known as TRX Signature Tower, the Exchange 106 is a 453.6-meter-tall skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur and is currently the 2nd tallest skyscraper in the city and in Malaysia, only second to Merdeka 118. The tower surpassed the height of the Petronas Twin Towers by 1.7 meters, and briefly held the title of the tallest building in Malaysia before the completion of Merdeka 118. The tower is located in the new TRX (Tun Razak Exchange) financial district, and is built as the centerpiece of the district.
20. Petronas Towers
Standard height: 452 meters
Roof height: 407 meters
Floor count: 88
Observation Deck: 370 m, 170 m
Year built: 1998
Uses: Office, Observation, Retail
Location: Kuala Lumpur
Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world by architectural height from 1998 to 2004. The Tower 2 of the twin towers has an observation deck on the 86th floor, the skybridge between two towers also contains a smaller observatory, for details see visiting Petronas Towers Observation Deck.
Above are all the top 20 tallest buildings in the world.