The ten tallest completed buildings on Earth, ranked by CTBUH architectural height — from the 828-metre Burj Khalifa to Beijing's China Zun.
Quick answer: 1. Burj Khalifa, 2. Merdeka 118, 3. Shanghai Tower, 4. Makkah Royal Clock Tower, 5. Ping An Finance Centre, 6. Lotte World Tower, 7. One World Trade Center, 8. Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, 9. Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, 10. CITIC Tower (China Zun).
Sixteen years after the Burj Khalifa redefined what a building could be, the race for the sky has a clear scoreboard — and it is dominated by Asia and the Middle East. This list ranks the ten tallest buildings on the planet that are actually finished and open, using the height definition the industry itself uses. Whether you are tracking skylines, studying megatall engineering or just settling an argument, these are the ten towers that matter — with the numbers, dates and details behind each one.
The undisputed champion since 2010. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with a Y-shaped buttressed core, it soars 828 metres — more than 150 metres clear of any rival — and packs 163 floors of offices, residences, the Armani Hotel and observation decks into one desert needle.
Completed in 2023 beside Kuala Lumpur's historic Stadium Merdeka, this faceted diamond-faced tower is the second-tallest building ever built and the tallest in Southeast Asia, mixing offices, a hotel and serviced apartments across 118 floors.
China's tallest building and a masterclass in wind engineering: its 128-storey glass form twists 120 degrees as it rises, and the double-skin facade cuts wind loads while creating nine stacked vertical neighbourhoods of offices and hotel space.
The centrepiece of the Abraj Al Bait complex beside the Grand Mosque, this 601-metre tower carries the world's largest clock faces — visible from 25 kilometres away — and holds the record for the tallest clock tower ever built.
Shenzhen's financial-district flagship was originally designed to be taller, but aviation height limits near the airport trimmed the planned spire — leaving it at 599.1 metres. It remains one of the world's tallest pure office towers, with 115 floors of premium workspace.
Seoul's tapered supertall combines a luxury hotel, offices, residences and the Lotte World Mall at its base across 123 floors. Its 555-metre glass observatory floor is among the highest public decks in the world.
Rising on the World Trade Center site, its 541.3-metre height is a deliberate nod to 1776 — the year of American independence — achieved with a 124-metre spire. The 94-storey tower is the tallest in the Western Hemisphere.
The elder of the two 530-metre CTF twins, completed in 2016 with 111 floors of hotel, residential and office space in the heart of Guangzhou's Pearl River New Town. It ranks ahead of its Tianjin namesake on earlier completion.
Completed in 2019, Tianjin's 97-storey CTF tower matches Guangzhou's at exactly 530 metres, making the pair the only tie in the top 10. Its softly tapered profile was shaped to shed the region's harsh coastal winds.
Beijing's tallest building, nicknamed China Zun after the ancient bronze ritual vessel its form echoes. The 109-storey, 527.7-metre office tower anchors the capital's central business district and rounds out a top 10 in which China holds five places.
| # | Name | City | Completed | Country | Floors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burj Khalifa | Dubai | 2010 | United Arab Emirates | 163 |
| 2 | Merdeka 118 | Kuala Lumpur | 2023 | Malaysia | 118 |
| 3 | Shanghai Tower | Shanghai | 2015 | China | 128 |
| 4 | Makkah Royal Clock Tower | Mecca | 2012 | Saudi Arabia | 120 |
| 5 | Ping An Finance Centre | Shenzhen | 2017 | China | 115 |
| 6 | Lotte World Tower | Seoul | 2017 | South Korea | 123 |
| 7 | One World Trade Center | New York City | 2014 | United States | 94 |
| 8 | Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre | Guangzhou | 2016 | China | 111 |
| 9 | Tianjin CTF Finance Centre | Tianjin | 2019 | China | 97 |
| 10 | CITIC Tower (China Zun) | Beijing | 2018 | China | 109 |
Ranked by CTBUH architectural height in metres — the height to the top of the spire or permanent architectural feature, excluding antennas and masts. Only completed, occupiable buildings are included; topped-out or on-hold structures (notably Goldin Finance 117 in Tianjin at 596.6 m) are excluded until finished. The two CTF Finance Centres tie at 530 m, so the earlier-completed Guangzhou tower (2016) is listed ahead of Tianjin (2019). Figures cross-checked against the CTBUH Skyscraper Center and the Global Tall Buildings Index 2026, current as of September 2026.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at 828 metres (2,717 ft). It has held the title since its completion in 2010, and no completed building has come within 150 metres of it since.
This list uses the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) definition of architectural height: spires and permanent architectural features count, but antennas, masts and signage do not. That is why, for example, a tower with a tall antenna can rank below a shorter one with a spire.
China, with five of the ten: Shanghai Tower, Ping An Finance Centre, Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, Tianjin CTF Finance Centre and CITIC Tower (China Zun). The UAE, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the United States each have one.
Only completed buildings are ranked. The Goldin Finance 117 tower in Tianjin, which topped out at 596.6 metres, is excluded because construction is on hold and it is not complete. Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, planned at around 1,000 metres, is also unfinished.
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