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
=> used by the Almanac of Architecture and Design 2007 <=
About this list
Most of this list was compiled from Emporis.com and other sites by Paul Kazmierczak. The 2008 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
aug 2009: updated most cities (the top 300 and some more). Change of rules: we only count u/c buildings then they are topped out. In prior versions all u/c buildings were counted. 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 2006-2007, 2008, 2009
CountryBuildings
>90 m
highest scoring building
(height)
[1] 184922
Hong KongChina3018International Commerce Centre (484m, u/c)
[2] 235811
New York (inc Jersey City, Fort Lee, Guttenburg)USA866One World Trade Center (417m)will be listed as tribute to 9/11 victims until topping-out of new WTC1
[4] 319670
Tokyo (inc Kawaguchi, Kawasaki, Ichikawa)Japan636Mid Town Tower (248m)
[5] 418129
ShanghaiChina539Shanghai World Financial Cnter (492m)
[6] 516426
ChicagoUSA339Willis Tower (442m)
[3] 615262
DubaiUAE263Burj Dubai (818m, u/c)
[7] 713375
BangkokThailand421Baiyoke Tower II (304m)
[8] 810368
GuangzhouChina342Guangzhou Twin Tower, West Tower (437m, u/c)
[9] 98849
ChongqingChina357Chongqing World Trade Center (283m)
[10] 107923
ShenzhenChina240Shun Hing Square (384m)
[11] 117697
SingaporeSingapore329Republic Plaza (280m)
[13] 127674
Kuala Lumpur (inc Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya)Malaysia221Petronas Tower 1 (452m)
[12] 137195
SeoulSouth Korea264Tower Palace Three, Tower G (264m)
[16] 146598
Manila (metro inc. Makati, Mandaluyong, Ortigas, Quezon City)Philippines175PBCOM Tower (259m)
[15] 156053
Toronto (inc. Mississauga)Canada222First Bank Tower (298m)
[19] 165590
JakartaIndonesia180Wisma 46 (250m)
[18] 175473
Osaka (inc. Sakai, Amagasaka)Japan149Osaka World Trade Center (252m)
[20] 185371
BeijingChina258China World Trade Center Tower 3 (330m)
[23] 194909
Miami (inc Miami Beach)USA112Four Seasons Hotel & Tower (240m)
[22] 204903
NanjingChina98Nanjing Greenland Financial Center (380m, u/c)
[24] 214812
Houston (inc Pasadena)USA114JPMorganChase Tower (305m)
[25] 224693
Sydney (inc. N. Sydney, Chatswood, Bondi, St. Leonards)Australia137Chifley Tower (244m)
[17] 234411
MoscowRussia152Moscow, City of Capitals (300m, u/c)
[26] 243978
São PauloBrazil289Mirante do Vale (170m)
[28] 253842
Los Angeles (inc Burbank, El Segundo, W Hollywood)USA90US Bank Tower (310m)
[29] 263626
MelbourneAustralia105Eureka Tower (297m)
[30] 273564
Atlanta (inc Vinnings, North Atlanta)USA90Bank of America Plaza (312m)
[31] 283435
San FranciscoUSA102Transamerica Pyramid (260m)
[14] 293274
Panama CityPanama101Ocean Two (236m, u/c)
[34] 302959
WuhanChina155Minsheng Bank Building (331m)
[35] 312894
Las VegasUSA61Fontainebleau Resort Hotel (224m, u/c)
[33] 322859
DalianChina83Dalian Futures Square 1 (263m)
[27] 332798
TianjinChina70Tianjin Junlin Tianxia Building (239m, u/c)
[32] 342764
Mumbai (Bombay)India94The Imperial Tower 1 (249m, u/c)
[39] 352762
Dallas (inc Las Colinas of Irving)USA66Bank of America Plaza (281m)
[21] 362754
MacauChina122Grand Lisboa (258m)
[37] 372665
Mexico CityMexico104Torre Mayor (225m)
[43] 382638
Philadelphia (inc Camden)USA69Comcast Center (297m)
[41] 392617
Paris (inc La Defense & périphérique suburbs)France111Tour Montparnasse (210m)
[54] 402579
HangzhouChina74Zhejiang Fortune Financial Center West Tower (258m, u/c)
[53] 412530
WuxiChina72Hongdou International Plaza (248m, u/c)
[36] 422432
IstanbulTurkey85Sapphire (261m, u/c)
[38] 432430
BusanSouth Korea52Centumstar (210m)
[49] 442330
Boston (inc Cambridge)USA57Hancock Place (241m)
[46] 452274
Buenos AiresArgentina109Torre Cavia (173m, u/c)
[45] 462246
QingdaoChina64Qingdao International Finance Center (249m)
[51] 472202
SeattleUSA52Columbia Center (285m)
[44] 482118
CalgaryCanada66Petro-Canada Centre - West Tower (215m)
[50] 492086
ChengduChina100Sichuan Aerospace Tower (170m)
[59] 501993
Taipei (inc Chungho, Panchou, Yungho)Taiwan57Taipei 101 (509m)
[40] 511894
DohaQatar35Aspire Tower (300m)
[58] 521776
FrankfurtGermany38Commerzbank Tower (259m)
[57] 531713
BrisbaneAustralia57Aurora (207m)
[64] 541675
Montreal (inc Longueuil)Canada62Le 1250 Boulevard René-Lévesque (226m)
[63] 551644
Rio de Janeiro (inc Niterói)Brazil94Rio Sul Center (163m)
[60] 561628
Tel Aviv (inc Ramat Gan, Givataiym, Bnei Brak)Israel52City Gate Ramat Gan (244m)
[42] 571596
ShenyangChina75Wanxin International (238m)
[65] 581592
CaracasVenezuela65Parque Central Torre Este (221m)
[67] 591580
MinneapolisUSA35IDS Tower (241m)
[52] 601576
LondonUK48One Canada Square (235m)
[68] 611573
Honolulu, HIUSA89First Hawaiian Center (131m)
[61] 621550
Vancouver (inc Burnaby, N. Vancouver)Canada103Living Shangri-La (201m)
[69] 631497
Denver (inc. Glendale)USA45Republic Plaza (218m)
[56] 641482
XiamenChina81China Construction Bank Building (191m)
[66] 651442
Sharjah (Dubai metro)UAE31Al Ayaan Sharjah Gate Tower (224m)
[62] 661409
Gold Coast (Surfer's Paradise)Australia66Q1 Tower (323m)
[48] 671400
Kuwait CityKuwait30Arraya 2 (300m)
[71] 681377
Yokohama (Tokyo metro)Japan54Yokohama Landmark Tower (296m)
[55] 691364
Suzhou (Shanghai metro)China44Suzhou International Commerce City West Tower (224m, u/c)
[72] 701336
Detroit (inc Southfield, Windsor)USA42Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center (221m)
[74] 711290
KaohsiungTaiwan30Tunex Sky Tower (348m)
[73] 721289
PittsburghUSA31U.S. Steel Tower (256m)
[70] 731245
RecifeBrazil96Freguesia de Casa Forte (131m, u/c)
[77] 741165
Kobe (Osaka metro)Japan41Kansai Electric Power Company Kobe Branch (170m)
[75] 751155
CairoEgypt44Ministry of Foreign Affairs (143m)
[78] 761094
Sunny Isles Beach (Miami metro)USA22Jade Beach (175m)
[80] 771080
FuzhouChina35Fujian Power Dispatching and Communication Building (196m)
[82] 781003
JinanChina39Pearl Int'l Business Mansion (188m)
[79] 791002
XianChina46Shaanxi Information Mansion (228m)
[85] 80952NagoyaJapan21Midland Square (247m)
[88] 81942MadridSpain18Torre Caja Madrid (250m)
[87] 82941San DiegoUSA32One America Plaza (152m)
[81] 83921CharlotteUSA23Bank of America Corporate Center (265m)
[97] 84916ChangshaChina26Changsha No.2 Telecom Hinge Building (218m)
[89] 85909Johannesburg (inc. Sandton)South Africa26Carlton Centre Office Tower (223m)
[93] 86886New OrleansUSA24One Shell Square (212m)
[96] 87828ClevelandUSA17Key Tower (289m)
[95]  .. 828ManamaBahrain10Dual Tower 1 (260m)
[83] 89824ShijiazhuangChina35Shijiazhuang No.2 Telecommunication Hub Building (213m, u/c)
[109] 90823AnkaraTurkey47Portakal Cicegi Tower (160m, u/c)
[98] 91812Incheon (Seoul metro)South Korea6Northeast Asia Trade Tower (305m, u/c)
[103] 92805TaichungTaiwan18Shr-Hwa International Tower (192m)
[100] 93772BogotáColombia24Torre Colpatria (196m)
[47] 94738Abu DhabiUAE18Sky Tower (310m, u/c)
[106] 95721CuritibaBrazil61Evolution Corporate (137m)
[84] 96707NanchangChina22Xiqi International Hotel (186m)
[99] 97704NingboChina27Ningbo International Trade Center (220m, u/c)
[107] 98698Columbus, OHUSA17Rhodes State Office Tower (192m)
[101] 99685WarsawPoland20Palace of Culture and Science (231m)
[76] 100677KyivUkraine55Kviv TV Tower (385m)
489665WORLD TOTAL16259
next 100 cities >

created: 1998-05-20
last update: 2009-08-25