828metres · Burj Khalifa, Dubai
Short answer: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest building in the world at 828 metres. Second is Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur (678.9 metres), third the Shanghai Tower (632 metres).
Since it opened in 2010, the Burj Khalifa has been unchallenged at the top. This is the top 10 tallest completed buildings in the world, according to an overview by the German trade magazine Ingenieur.de based on data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
The 10 tallest buildings in the world
- Burj Khalifa, Dubai: 828 m
- Merdeka 118, Kuala Lumpur: 678.9 m
- Shanghai Tower, Shanghai: 632 m
- Makkah Royal Clock Tower, Mecca: 601 m
- Ping An Finance Center, Shenzhen: 599.1 m
- Lotte World Tower, Seoul: 554.5 m
- One World Trade Center, New York: 541.3 m
- Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, Guangzhou: 530 m
- Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, Tianjin: 530 m
- CITIC Tower, Beijing: 527.7 m
Burj Khalifa
The Burj Khalifa contains homes, offices, a hotel and observation decks. Visitors can go up to “At the Top” on levels 124 and 125, and higher still on level 148.
Will the Burj Khalifa be overtaken?
In the Saudi city of Jeddah, construction is under way on the Jeddah Tower, which is planned to exceed 1,000 metres: the first building taller than a kilometre. According to Ingenieur.de, the tower had reached about 430 metres by late July 2026. Expectations for its completion date vary.
How is height measured?
The CTBUH measures to the architectural top, including spires that are part of the design but excluding antennas. That is why a building with a tall antenna can still rank lower.
Final edit: Jan Willem Beumer, editor-in-chief of Mindbogglingmedia
