The World's Tallest Buildings

1. Burj Khalifa

Since its completion in 2010, the world's tallest skyscraper has been Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The building, which was designed by the architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is a mighty 828 meters tall and has 163 floors. Burj Khalifa is one of Dubai's most famous buildings. Its potential successor, Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, is however already in the starting blocks: At a kilometer in height, this ambitious construction project, which was started in 2013, is due to surpass the current record holder by some distance.

2. Shanghai Tower

At a height of 632 meters, Shanghai Tower, located in the Chinese city of Shanghai, is almost 200 meters shorter than Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Although the skyscraper is due to be completed during the course of 2014, it has already topped out (reached its final height) and thus garnered second place in the list of the world's tallest buildings. In addition, Shanghai Tower will be home to the world's fastest elevators, which will climb the tower at the speed of 18 meters per second. 

3. Makkah Clock Royal Tower

The third-tallest building in the world is the Makkah Clock Royal Tower, whose most striking feature is its clock tower. The clock face is so large that the clock can be seen from 25 kilometers away. The 601-meter-tall building was completed in 2012 and is situated in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. 

4. One World Trade Center

60 meters behind in fourth place follows One World Trade Center in New York City, which topped out at 541 meters on May 10, 2013, since when it has not only been the world's fourth-tallest building but also the tallest skyscraper in New York City. The building is being constructed on the site of the former World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Completion is due in spring 2014. 

5. Taipei 101

509 meters is the height of Taipei 101, which occupies fifth place in the list. The building was even the tallest in the world from 2004 to 2007 until it was surpassed by Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Taipei 101 is named for its location in Taiwan's capital Taipei and for the number of stories in the building – 101 in total. Its striking design won it the 2004 Emporis Skyscraper Award.

6. Shanghai World Financial Center

The Shanghai World Financial Center measures just 16 meters less than Taipei 101. The building, which due to its shape is also referred to as the "bottle-opener", is a direct neighbor of Shanghai Tower and was completed in 2008 from a design by Kohn Pedersen Fox. 

7. International Commerce Centre

With the International Commerce Centre in Hong Kong, a further Chinese skyscraper is to be found in seventh place in the ranking of the world's tallest buildings. The 484-meter-tall skyscraper houses the world's highest hotel on its top 13 floors and is also Hong Kong's tallest building. 

8./9. Petronas Towers

The eighth and ninth places are shared by the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. They count among the most famous buildings in the Malaysian capital, thanks in part to a skybridge connecting the two 452-meter-tall buildings on the 41st and 42nd floors. In addition, these were the world's tallest skyscrapers between 1996 and 2003. 

10. Zifeng Tower

The Petronas Towers are just two meters taller than the tenth-tallest skyscraper in the world, Zifeng Tower in Nanjing. This also means that no fewer than four of the world's ten tallest skyscrapers are located in China. Zifeng Tower, which was completed in 2010, has an observation platform at 272 meters up and includes a 500-room Intercontinental Hotel.