From the Burj Khalifa on down, the world's tallest completed buildings, ranked by architectural height.
Pictured: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, #1 at 828 m.
| Rank | Building | Height | Primary use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burj Khalifa — Dubai, UAE (2010) | 828 m | Mixed-use |
| 2 | Merdeka 118 — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2024) | 679 m | Mixed-use |
| 3 | Shanghai Tower — Shanghai, China (2015) | 632 m | Mixed-use |
| 4 | Makkah Royal Clock Tower — Mecca, Saudi Arabia (2012) | 601 m | Hotel |
| 5 | Ping An Finance Centre — Shenzhen, China (2017) | 599 m | Office |
| 6 | Lotte World Tower — Seoul, South Korea (2017) | 555 m | Mixed-use |
| 7 | One World Trade Center — New York, USA (2014) | 541 m | Office |
| 8 | Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre — Guangzhou, China (2016) | 530 m | Mixed-use |
| 9 | Tianjin CTF Finance Centre — Tianjin, China (2019) | 530 m | Mixed-use |
| 10 | CITIC Tower — Beijing, China (2018) | 528 m | Office |
| 11 | Taipei 101 — Taipei, Taiwan (2004) | 508 m | Mixed-use |
| 12 | Shanghai World Financial Center — Shanghai, China (2008) | 492 m | Mixed-use |
| 13 | International Commerce Centre — Hong Kong (2010) | 484 m | Mixed-use |
| 14 | Central Park Tower — New York, USA (2020) | 472 m | Residential |
| 15 | Lakhta Center — St. Petersburg, Russia (2019) | 462 m | Office |
No matching rows.
The world's tallest building since it opened in 2010, and by a wide margin — nearly 150 meters taller than second place. Its tapering, Y-shaped floor plan was designed specifically to confuse and reduce wind loads as the tower rises.[1]
The newest entry in the top five, completed in 2024. Its 118 floors give the tower its name (merdeka means "independence" in Malay), and its silhouette is said to echo the raised-hand gesture of Malaysia's first prime minister at independence.[1]
The building's facade twists a full 120 degrees from base to roof — a shape wind-tunnel testing found cuts wind loads by roughly a quarter compared to a straight tower of the same height. It also houses three express elevators that were, at the time of completion, the world's fastest, capable of exceeding 18 meters per second (40 mph).[1]
Part of the Abraj Al-Bait complex overlooking the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, it carries the world's largest clock face — visible from many kilometers away — and one of the largest hotels on Earth by room count. The complex was built on the site of the 18th-century Ottoman-era Ajyad Fortress, whose 2002 demolition drew international protests from Turkey and UNESCO over the loss of a historic landmark.[2]
Shenzhen's tallest building and the headquarters of the Ping An Insurance Group, with an observation deck near the top of the tower's 115 floors. Its original design included a 60-meter spire that would have made it taller still, but the antenna was scrapped in 2015 after regulators determined it could interfere with flight paths into Shenzhen's airport.[1]
Seoul's tallest building houses South Korea's highest observation deck along with offices, a luxury hotel, and residences, its glass facade tapering gently upward to cut wind loads. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, its silhouette draws inspiration from traditional Korean ceramics, porcelain, and calligraphy, and took more than six years to build before opening in April 2017.[1]
Built on the site of the original World Trade Center, its height of 1,776 feet is a deliberate nod to the year of American independence, and its rooftop spire carries a beacon visible for miles. Whether that spire counted as architecture or a mere antenna — only the former adds to official height — was disputed for years, until the Council on Tall Buildings ruled in its favor in 2013, confirming it as the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.[1]
Known locally as the "East Tower," it mixes offices, a hotel, and serviced apartments, and is served by some of the fastest elevators in the world. Designed by the American firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, its express elevators reach 21 meters per second, about 72 km/h — among the fastest ever installed in a building.[1]
A near-twin of its Guangzhou sibling sharing the CTF name, its 97 floors mix office space with a five-star hotel and serviced apartments in China's Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, its curving facade is supported by eight sloping mega-columns, an approach that saved an estimated 19,000 tons of steel compared to an earlier design for the site.[1]
Nicknamed "China Zun" for its resemblance to an ancient bronze ceremonial wine vessel that flares at both the top and base, it's the tallest building in Beijing. Its design passed from TFP Farrells to Kohn Pedersen Fox for the final build, and upon completion in 2018 it surpassed the China World Trade Center Tower III by 190 meters to claim the city's height record.[1]