Skyscraper Day: These are the ten tallest buildings in the world

On September 3rd, Louis Henry Sullivan was born. He was an American architect who primarily worked in Chicago and was the first to design skyscrapers in history. Due to his impressive achievements, Sullivan was known as the "Father of Skyscrapers," and as a result, "Skyscraper Day" is celebrated on his birthday. To honor this, we have compiled a list of the top ten tallest skyscrapers in the world.

There isn't a specific definition for skyscrapers, but today it's generally accepted to refer to any building over 100 meters tall as one. You might be surprised to learn that the most famous skyscraper, the Empire State Building, is not included in the top ten list and is ranked 44th. As for Israel, we are not on the list because the tallest skyscraper in the country is the "Azrieli Sarona Tower," which reaches a height of only 238 meters.

Tenth place

In the tenth place on the list of the tallest skyscrapers in the world is the "CITIC Tower" in Beijing, which soars to a height of 528 meters and was inaugurated in 2018. The building, considered the "financial center of Beijing," consists of 109 floors (excluding three below-ground floors) and houses seven offices, the majority of which are occupied by CITIC Bank.

Ninth and eighth place

The ninth and eighth places are held by two buildings with a height of 530 meters, both located in China: the CTF Finance Centre in Guangzhou and the CTF Finance Centre in Tianjin.

The financial center in Tianjin (photo: Shutterstock/cowardlion)

The tower in Guangzhou, which was inaugurated in 2016, includes 111 above-ground floors and an additional 5 below-ground levels. It serves as a venue for conferences, large halls, a hotel, an observatory (on the top floor), a shopping mall, and offices. On the other hand, the tower in Tianjin, inaugurated in 2019, has only 97 floors consisting of a hotel and office rooms, among other things.

The Financial Center in Guangzhou (Photo: Shutterstock/ Harsh – S)

Seventh place

If the Empire State Building in New York remains outside the top ten, the United States must have a part, and in 2014, it inaugurated the "Freedom Tower" built in the World Trade Center complex near the ruins of the Twin Towers. The building rises to a height of 541 meters and includes 104 above-ground floors, plus another five underground floors.

The Freedom Tower (Photo: Shutterstock/Leonard Zhukovsky)

Sixth place

South Korea enters the list with the "Lotte World Tower" located in Seoul, inaugurated in 2017. The building stands at a height of 555 meters with 123 floors and includes a commercial center, offices, residential apartments, a hotel, and an observation deck.

Fifth place

China shines again with the "Ping An International Finance Center" in Shenzhen. Standing at a height of 599 meters with 115 floors, it was inaugurated in 2017 and includes offices, hotels, a conference center, a luxury mall, and an observation deck. Additionally, the building houses the main headquarters of the insurance company "Ping An." How do they manage to reach all those floors? The building features approximately 33 elevators traveling at speeds of up to 10 meters per second.

Ping An Financial Center (Photo: Shutterstock/Victor Jiang)

Fourth place

The "Abraj Al Bait Towers" in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, is a complex of buildings that includes the "Royal Clock Tower," a 120-story structure soaring to a height of 601 meters. The building was inaugurated in 2012 and holds a Guinness World Record for having the world's largest clock on it.

The Clock Tower (Photo: Shutterstock/noraismail)

Third place

China is back with the "Shanghai Tower," a skyscraper inaugurated in 2015, reaching a height of 632 meters, divided into 128 floors. Among the floors, you can find boutique shops, exhibition and concert halls, several different hotels, a spa, and a swimming pool on the 84th floor.

Second place

The "Merdeka 118" building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was inaugurated in 2022 and has become the second tallest building in the world, soaring to a height of 678.9 meters and consisting of 118 floors. On the top floor, you can find a VIP lounge. Among the different floors, there is also a hotel, an upscale restaurant, and an observation deck on the 115th and 116th floors.

The "Skytree" building located in Tokyo, Japan, does reach a height of 634 meters, surpassing the Merdeka building. However, it consists of only 29 floors, and visitors can only reach an observation deck up to a height of 450 meters.

First place

The first place is held by the "Burj Khalifa" in Dubai. The building, which rises to a height of 828 meters, is also the tallest building in the world in terms of the number of floors, with 163 floors. The building, opened in 2010, includes 57 elevators that will take you to a hotel, residential apartments, observation decks, a swimming pool, and offices.

The position of the Burj Khalifa at the top of the list is not guaranteed, as Dubai is planning to build a new tower called "Dubai City Tower," which is estimated to reach a height of 2,400 meters and will include approximately 400 floors.