Skyscrapers still capture the imagination, despite the problems of the Paddington Pole, cut down to size and re-imagined as the Paddington Cube by Sellar Property Group in London earlier this year. The top 100 tallest towers in the world – either built or under construction – have no such problems, soaring to heights unthinkable in the UK. And more are on the way.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s list of the tallest breaks down the buildings, ranking and sizing the top 100 in numerous ways for its new book on the subject. UAE developer Emaar Properties shares the title of most dominant with five of the tallest towers. When it builds The Tower, at its Dubai Creek Harbour project, it will be “slightly taller” than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, also developed and owned by Emaar. But the tallest, the Jeddah Tower, is expected to be 1,000m, when it is finished in 2020.
Chinese state-owned Greenland Group, which also owns five towers, has more modest plans for the UK. Its 67-storey Spire London would be the tallest residential tower in western Europe, but would still be only 235m (771ft) – a relative pipsqueak.
Top 50 towers by height (m) and completion date
| Rank | Name | CIty | Height | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeddah Tower | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | 1,000 | 2019 |
| 2 | Burj Khalifa | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 828 | 2010 |
| 3 | Suzhou Zhongnan Center | Suzhou, China | 729 | |
| 4 | Wuhan Greenland Center | Wuhan, China | 636 | 2018 |
| 5 | Shanghai Tower | Shanghai, China | 632 | 2015 |
| 6 | Makkah Royal Clock Tower | Mecca, Saudi Arabia | 601 | 2012 |
| 7 | Ping An Finance Center | Shenzhen, China | 599 | 2016 |
| 8 | Goldin Finance 117 | Tianjin, China | 597 | 2018 |
| 9 | Global Financial Center Tower 1 | Shenyang, China | 568 | 2018 |
| 10 | Lotte World Tower | Seoul, South Korea | 555 | 2016 |
| 11 | One World Trade Center | New York, US | 541 | 2014 |
| 12= | Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre | Guangzhou, China | 530 | 2016 |
| 12= | Tianjin CTF Finance Centre | Tianjin, China | 530 | 2018 |
| 14 | China Zun Tower | Beijing, China | 528 | 2018 |
| 15 | Dalian Greenland Center | Dalian, China | 518 | 2019 |
| 16 | TAIPEI 101 | Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan) | 508 | 2004 |
| 17 | Shanghai World Financial Center | Shanghai, China | 492 | 2008 |
| 18 | International Commerce Centre | Hong Kong, China | 484 | 2010 |
| 19= | Chengdu Greenland Tower | Chengdu, China | 468 | 2019 |
| 19= | Corporate Avenue 1 | Chongqing, China | 468 | 2019 |
| 19= | R&F Guangdong Building | Tianjin, China | 468 | 2019 |
| 22 | Lakhta Center | St Petersburg, Russia | 462 | 2018 |
| 23= | Changsha IFS Tower T1 | Changsha, China | 452 | 2017 |
| 23= | Petronas Twin Tower 1 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 452 | 1998 |
| 23= | Petronas Twin Tower 2 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 452 | 1998 |
| 26= | Suzhou IFS | Suzhou, China | 450 | 2017 |
| 26= | Zifeng Tower | Nanjing, China | 450 | 2010 |
| 28= | Marina 106 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 445 | 2019 |
| 28= | Nanning China Resources Tower | Nanning, China | 445 | 2019 |
| 30= | Willis Tower | Chicago, US | 442 | 1974 |
| 30= | World One | Mumbai, India | 442 | 2018 |
| 30= | KK100 | Shenzhen, China | 442 | 2011 |
| 33 | Guangzhou International Finance Center | Guangzhou, China | 439 | 2010 |
| 34= | 111 West 57th Street | New York, US | 438 | 2018 |
| 34= | Wuhan Center Tower | Wuhan, China | 438 | 2017 |
| 36 | Riverview Plaza A1 | Wuhan, China | 436 | |
| 37= | Dongguan International Trade Center 1 | Dongguan, China | 427 | 2019 |
| 37= | Marina 101 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 427 | 2016 |
| 39 | 432 Park Avenue | New York, US | 426 | 2015 |
| 40 | Trump International Hotel & Tower | Chicago, US | 423 | 2009 |
| 41 | Jin Mao Tower | Shanghai, China | 421 | 1999 |
| 42= | Princess Tower | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 413 | 2012 |
| 42= | Al Hamra Tower | Kuwait City, Kuwait | 413 | 2011 |
| 44 | Two International Finance Centre | Hong Kong, China | 412 | 2003 |
| 45 | China Resources Headquarters | Shenzhen, China | 393 | 2018 |
| 46 | 23 Marina | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 392 | 2012 |
| 47 | CITIC Plaza | Guangzhou, China | 390 | 1996 |
| 48 | 30 Hudson Yards | New York, US | 387 | 2019 |
| 49 | Capital Market Authority Tower | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 385 | 2017 |
| 50 | Shun Hing Square | Shenzhen, China | 384 | 1996 |
The average height of the tallest 100 towers across the world has risen again, from 350m (1,150 ft) in 2014 to 423m (1,400 ft) in 2016.
China dominates the list, with 53 of the tallest 100 towers. The only other countries to come close are the UAE (17), and USA (13). Vietnam, Indonesia, Kuwait and South Korea have one each, while the UK is a notable absentee.
Who owns the most tallest buildings?
| Rank | Name | No of buildings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emaar Properties | 5 |
| 1 | Greenland Group | 5 |
| 3= | Sun Hung Kai Properties | 3 |
| 3= | The (Wharf) Holdings | 3 |
| 5= | China Resources (Holdings) Company | 2 |
| 5= | Emirates Airline | 2 |
| 5= | Hang Lung Group | 2 |
| 5= | KLCC Property Holdings Berhad | 2 |
| 5= | New World Development Company | 2 |
| 5= | Shui On Group | 2 |
| 5= | Silverstein Properties | 2 |
| 5= | Tameer Holding Investment | 2 |
| 5= | The Blackstone Group | 2 |
| 5= | The Durst Organization | 2 |
How do UK towers compare?
| Name | Height | Owned by |
|---|---|---|
| The Shard | 309m | Sellar Property and State of Qatar |
| One Canada Square | 235m | Canary Wharf Group |
| Heron Tower | 230m | Heron International |
| 122 Leadenhall St | 225m | British Land and Oxford Properties |
| Crystal Palace Transmitter | 219m | Arqiva |
The Shard, at 309m (1,000 ft) would have had to be another 76m (250 feet) tall to break into the top 50
