HISTORY >> Skylines History 1920-2007 | The World's Tallest Buildings 1920-2009 | One Century of Skyscrapers | Top skylines since 1999
The World's Best Skylines
-- Skyscraper Cities Ranking List --
by Egbert Gramsbergen and Paul Kazmierczak
=> part of this list also appears in the Almanac of Architecture and Design 2010 <=
About this list
Most of this list was compiled by Paul Kazmierczak. Consulted websites: emporis.con, skyscraperpage.com, skyscrapercity.com, ctbuh.org, . The 2010 rankings [#] are added in the 1st column for comparison. See Emporis.com's skyline ranking for a similar list made with slightly different rules. Of course, we believe our list is better. See the rules.
Update
Sep 2011: big update! We updated approx. 300 cities. Main climbers this year: Shanghai #5→3, Panama City #24→15, Busan #43→22, Abu Dhabi #94→37. Growth in Asia and the Middle East, not much happening in crisis-struck North America and Europe. For the latest news, rumours and discussion see Skyscrapercity.com.
Video
Watch 3 videos (slide shows) of the top 51 skylines, by Johan Stjern.
Country color codes
 America (North , Central , South) 
Asia (South+East ex. Russia)
Middle East, South-west-Asia
Europe (inc. Russia, Turkey)
   Africa   ,   Australia, Oceania   
World map of skylines
World skylines map
XML
main data of all cities in XML
What are the rules?
This list is an attempt to rank the impressiveness of city skylines. The score of a city is equal to the sum of all building heights (structural height, in m) after substraction of the minimum of 90m/295ft for each building. Freestanding towers (not skyscrapres) count for half their height. Only completed and topped-out buildings are included. [more details]
Why this algorithm?
It measures a mix of height and breath of a skyline which seems to be honest as they are both important for the WOW! factor. Of course, people may think differently about their favorite skylines - see this poll or Luigi Di Serio's Top 15.
next 100 cities >
Ranking
[old]
PointsCITY
update 2007-2009, 2010, 2011
CountryBuildings
>90 m
highest scoring building
(height)
[1] 187128
Hong KongChina3054International Commerce Centre (484m)
[2] 236915
New York (inc. Jersey City, Fort Lee, Guttenburg, W New York)USA885One World Trade Center (1WTC) (541m, u/c)
not yet topped out; listed as tribute to 9/11 victims
[5] 321822
ShanghaiChina785Shanghai World Financial Center (492m)
[3] 421453
Tokyo (inc Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Ichikawa)Japan666Mid Town Tower (248m)
[4] 521018
DubaiUAE332Burj Khalifa (828m)
[6] 616831
ChicagoUSA349Willis Tower (442m)
[7] 715072
BangkokThailand478Baiyoke Tower II (304m)
[8] 815002
GuangzhouChina399Guangzhou International Finance Center (440m)
[12] 911694
ShenzhenChina290Kingkey 100 (442m)
[9] 1010536
ChongqingChina371Chongqing Poly Tower (287m, u/c)
[10] 119599
SingaporeSingapore365Republic Plaza (280m)
[11] 129490
SeoulSouth Korea304Tower Palace Three, Tower G (264m)
[13] 138748
Kuala Lumpur (inc Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya)Malaysia247Petronas Tower 1 (452m)
[14] 147825
Manila (metro inc. Makati, Mandaluyong, Ortigas, Quezon City)Philippines190Gramercy Residences (302m, u/c)
[24] 157343
Panama CityPanama185Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower (284m)
[15] 167159
JakartaIndonesia198Wisma 46 (262m)
[16] 177031
Toronto (inc. Mississauga)Canada251First Bank Tower (298m)
[18] 185882
BeijingChina251China World Trade Center Tower 3 (330m)
[17] 195753
Osaka (inc. Sakai, Amagasaka)Japan157Osaka World Trade Center (256m)
[19] 205657
NanjingChina113Nanjing Greenland Financial Center (450m)
[22] 215259
MoscowRussia177Moscow, City of Capitals (302m)
[43] 225154
BusanSouth Korea89Doosan Haeundae We've the Zenith Tower A (301m, u/c)
[20] 234991
Miami (inc Miami Beach)USA111Four Seasons Hotel & Tower (240m)
[21] 244983
Houston (inc Pasadena)USA117JPMorganChase Tower (305m)
[23] 254899
Sydney (inc. N. Sydney)Australia142Chifley Tower (244m)
[34] 264467
MumbaiIndia139The Imperial Tower 1 (249m)
[25] 274226
São PauloBrazil299Mirante do Vale (170m)
[32] 284126
DalianChina115Dalian Futures Square 1 (243m)
[33] 293990
TianjinChina85Tianjin World Financial Center (337m, u/c)
[30] 303894
WuhanChina170Minsheng Bank Building (331m)
[26] 313826
Los Angeles (inc Burbank, El Segundo, W Hollywood)USA88US Bank Tower (310m)
[36] 323702
MacauChina136Grand Lisboa (258m)
[27] 333605
MelbourneAustralia105Eureka Tower (297m)
[28] 343597
Atlanta (inc Vinnings, North Atlanta)USA90Bank of America Plaza (317m)
[29] 353419
San FranciscoUSA102Transamerica Pyramid (260m)
[51] 363352
DohaQatar58Aspire Tower (300m)
[94] 373341
Abu DhabiUAE42The Landmark (324m, u/c)
[49] 383185
ChengduChina125Tianfu Times Tower (180m)
[50] 393078
Taipei (inc Chungho, Panchou, Yungho)Taiwan108Taipei 101 (508m)
[42] 402977
IstanbulTurkey100Sapphire (261m)
[31] 412912
Las VegasUSA61Fontainebleau Resort Hotel (224m, u/c)on hold
[46] 422842
QingdaoChina76Qingdao International Finance Center (249m)
[37] 432784
Mexico CityMexico110Torre Mayor (225m)
[35] 442777
Dallas (inc Las Colinas of Irving)USA68Bank of America Plaza (281m)
[91] 452774
Incheon (Seoul metro)South Korea62Northeast Asia Trade Tower (305m)
[39] 462638
Paris (inc La Defense & périphérique suburbs)France113Tour First (231m)
[38]  .. 2638
Philadelphia (inc Camden)USA69Comcast Center (297m)
[45] 482560
Buenos AiresArgentina118Le Parc Figueroa Alcorta - Torre Cavia (173m)
[48] 492469
CalgaryCanada70The Bow (236m)
[44] 502360
Boston (inc Cambridge)USA58Hancock Place (241m)
[47] 512202
SeattleUSA52Columbia Center (285m)
[71] 522191
KaohsiungTaiwan92Tunex Sky Tower (348m)
[40] 532165
HangzhouChina68Zhejiang Fortune Financial Center West Tower (258m)
[67] 542109
Kuwait CityKuwait39Al Hamra Tower (413m, u/c)
[64] 552097
XiamenChina94Fortune Center (192m)
[52] 561893
FrankfurtGermany39Commerzbank Tower (259m)
[53] 571872
BrisbaneAustralia60Aurora (207m)
[56] 581850
Tel Aviv (inc Ramat Gan, Givataiym, Bnei Brak)Israel59City Gate Ramat Gan (244m)
[65] 591828
Sharjah (Dubai metro)UAE37Al Ayaan Sharjah Gate Tower (224m)
[60] 601805
LondonUK51One Canada Square (236m)
[57] 611804
ShenyangChina68Shenyang Royal Wan Xin International Mansion Tower A (219m)
[62] 621686
Vancouver (inc Burnaby, N. Vancouver)Canada107Living Shangri-La (201m)
[55] 631658
Rio de Janeiro (inc Niterói)Brazil99Rio Sul Center (163m)
[54] 641653
Montreal (inc Longueuil)Canada59Le 1250 Boulevard René-Lévesque (226m)
[66] 651614
Gold Coast (Surfer's Paradise)Australia69Q1 Tower (323m)
[58] 661610
CaracasVenezuela74Parque Central Torre Este (225m)
[59] 671582
MinneapolisUSA35IDS Tower (241m)
[61] 681573
Honolulu, HIUSA89First Hawaiian Center (131m)
[69] 691569
Suzhou (Shanghai metro)China44SPG Global Tower A (286m)
[63] 701502
Denver (inc. Glendale)USA45Republic Plaza (218m)
[213] 711489
DaeguSouth Korea42Suseong Leader's View 1 (225m)
[104] 721486
GuiyangChina57Kempinski Hotel (212m)
[189] 731429
Makkah (Mecca)Saudi Arabia7Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel (601m, u/c)
[68] 741377
Yokohama (Tokyo metro)Japan54Yokohama Landmark Tower (296m)
[77] 751340
FuzhouChina39Fujian Power Dispatching and Communication Building (196m)
[70] 761336
Detroit (inc Southfield, Windsor)USA42Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center (221m)
[41] 771322
WuxiChina29Run Hua International Building (258m)
[72] 781304
PittsburghUSA33U.S. Steel Tower (256m)
[73] 791293
RecifeBrazil102Freguesia de Casa Forte (131m)
[107] 801245
Songnam (Seoul metro)South Korea49NHN Green Factory (135m)
[74]  .. 1245
Kobe (Osaka metro)Japan42Kansai Electric Power Company Kobe Branch (170m)
[89] 821182
ShijiazhuangChina50Shijiazhuang No.2 Telecommunication Hub Building (213m)
[78] 831168
JinanChina43Pearl Int'l Business Mansion (188m)
[75] 841155
CairoEgypt44Ministry of Foreign Affairs (143m)
[83] 851102
CharlotteUSA22Bank of America Corporate Center (265m)
[96] 861094
NanchangChina31International Finance Center (239m, u/c)
[76] 871092
Sunny Isles Beach (Miami metro)USA22Jade Beach (175m)
[153] 881026
Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam36Bitexco Financial Tower (269m)
[79] 891007
XianChina47Shaanxi Information Mansion (228m)
[157] 90984UlsanSouth Korea24Taehwa-River Iaan Exodium Tower 1 (201m)
[90] 91981AnkaraTurkey56Portakal Cicegi Tower (160m)
[84] 92978ChangshaChina23Changsha No.2 Telecom Hinge Building (218m)
[82] 93972San DiegoUSA33One America Plaza (152m)
[121] 94964HarbinChina46Harbin Exhibition Center Hotel (170m)
[80] 95952NagoyaJapan22Midland Square (247m)
[81] 96941MadridSpain18Torre de Cristal (249m)
[168] 97934TaiyuanChina30Golden Port Hotel (179m)
[97] 98917NingboChina31Chamber of Commerce International Trade Center (207m)
[87]  .. 917ManamaBahrain14Dual Tower 1 (260m)
[92] 100904TaichungTaiwan27Shr-Hwa International Tower (192m)
574341WORLD TOTAL18120
next 100 cities >

created: 1998-05-20
last update: 2011-09-08