The world's tallest self-supporting towers, ranked by pinnacle height from Tokyo Skytree's record 634 metres down.
Quick answer: 1. Tokyo Skytree, 2. Canton Tower, 3. CN Tower, 4. Ostankino Tower, 5. Oriental Pearl Tower, 6. Milad Tower, 7. Kuala Lumpur Tower (KL Tower), 8. Tianjin Radio and Television Tower, 9. Central Radio & TV Tower, 10. Zhongyuan Tower.
Freestanding towers are the giants that hold up broadcasting antennas and observation decks while standing entirely on their own foundations — no guy wires, and less than half their volume given over to occupiable floors. That last rule is what separates a "tower" from a "skyscraper": these structures exist to reach high, not to house people. This list ranks the ten tallest freestanding towers on Earth by their total pinnacle height, tip to base. It's a lineup dominated by television and telecom masts, and — increasingly — by China, which claims five of the ten. Whether you're a structural-engineering buff or just curious how these landmarks stack up, here's the definitive order.
At 634 metres, Tokyo's broadcasting and observation tower is Guinness-certified as the world's tallest freestanding tower, a title it took in November 2011 before opening to the public in May 2012.
Guangzhou's twisting hyperboloid tower reaches 600 metres — a 454 m main body topped by a 146 m antenna mast — making it the tallest tower in China and second in the world.
Toronto's 553.3 m landmark held the title of world's tallest freestanding structure for over three decades (1976-2009) and remains the tallest freestanding tower in the Western Hemisphere.
Rising 540.1 metres over Moscow, this Soviet-era broadcasting tower was built to mark the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution and is Europe's tallest freestanding structure.
The multi-sphere TV tower in Shanghai's Pudong district reaches 468 metres to its antenna tip and has been a signature of the city's skyline since it opened in the mid-1990s.
Tehran's 435 m telecommunications tower is the tallest in Iran and the tallest freestanding tower in Western Asia, measured from base to antenna tip.
Malaysia's 421 m telecom tower carries its pod — whose roof sits at 336.5 m — and doubles as an Islamic falak observatory; it opened to the public in 1996.
Known locally as the Tianta, this 415.2 m tower in Tianjin combines radio and TV broadcasting with an observation pod.
Beijing's 405 m broadcasting tower carries China Central Television transmissions and hosts a revolving restaurant and observation deck near its antenna spire.
The Henan Radio and Television Tower in Zhengzhou stands 388 metres tall, a multi-functional broadcasting and cultural landmark completed in 2011.
| # | Name | Height (m) | Country | Year completed | Main use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo Skytree | 634 | Japan | 2012 | Broadcasting / observation |
| 2 | Canton Tower | 600 | China | 2010 | Observation / broadcasting |
| 3 | CN Tower | 553.3 | Canada | 1976 | Observation / telecommunications |
| 4 | Ostankino Tower | 540.1 | Russia | 1967 | Broadcasting / observation |
| 5 | Oriental Pearl Tower | 468 | China | 1994 | Broadcasting / observation |
| 6 | Milad Tower | 435 | Iran | 2007 | Telecommunications / observation |
| 7 | Kuala Lumpur Tower (KL Tower) | 421 | Malaysia | 1996 | Telecommunications / observation |
| 8 | Tianjin Radio and Television Tower | 415.2 | China | 1991 | Broadcasting / observation |
| 9 | Central Radio & TV Tower | 405 | China | 1992 | Broadcasting / observation |
| 10 | Zhongyuan Tower | 388 | China | 2011 | Broadcasting / observation |
Towers are ranked by total pinnacle height in metres — the distance from the base to the very tip of the antenna or spire. To qualify as a freestanding tower a structure must be self-supporting (no guy wires or cables, which would make it a guyed mast) and must have less than 50% of its height as occupiable floor area, which excludes habitable skyscrapers. Only completed, standing towers are included. Heights are taken from each tower's official specifications where available and otherwise from its Wikipedia record, cross-referenced against Wikipedia's List of tallest towers. Rank 1 is the tallest; ties would break to the taller official maximum figure.
Tokyo Skytree in Japan, at 634 metres. It was certified by Guinness World Records as the world's tallest tower in November 2011 and opened to the public in May 2012.
A freestanding tower is a self-supporting structure (no guy wires) with less than 50% of its height given over to occupiable floor space — it exists mainly to hold antennas or observation decks. A skyscraper, by contrast, is a habitable building, so towers like the Burj Khalifa are ranked separately from towers like Tokyo Skytree.
No. The CN Tower (553.3 m) was the world's tallest freestanding structure from 1976 to 2009, but it has since been surpassed by both Canton Tower (600 m) and Tokyo Skytree (634 m). It remains the tallest freestanding tower in the Western Hemisphere.
China, with five of the top ten: Canton Tower, Oriental Pearl Tower, Tianjin Radio and Television Tower, Central Radio & TV Tower, and Zhongyuan Tower.