How each era changed the skyline
Forty-five of the world's top 100 completed towers went up since the year 2000. This page groups them by the decade they finished, tallies completions, and ties each era to the structural and economic currents beneath it.
When the top 100 were built
100 of the 100 completed towers have a recorded completion year. Bars show how many of the current top 100 were completed in each decade from the 1970s onward.
Chicago & New York duel
Sears Tower ended a 43-year New York run; the World Trade Center carried 110 storeys on a perimeter-tube frame. Most were Office (2).
- 01Willis TowerChicago · United States442.1 m 1,450 ft
- 02Aon CenterChicago · United States346.3 m 1,136 ft
Asia takes the wooden spoon to steel
Petronas reclaimed the title in Kuala Lumpur using high-strength concrete — a shift that would define the 2000s. Most were Office (7) and Mixed-use (2).
- 01Petronas Tower 1Kuala Lumpur · Malaysia451.9 m 1,483 ft
- 02Petronas Tower 2Kuala Lumpur · Malaysia451.9 m 1,483 ft
- 03Jin Mao TowerShanghai · China420.5 m 1,380 ft
- 04CITIC PlazaGuangzhou · China390.2 m 1,280 ft
- 05Shun Hing SquareShenzhen · China384 m 1,260 ft
The five tallest of the decade are listed above; 4 more on the top 100 were completed in this era. See them all in the full ranking.
Spire wars and Gulf capital
Taipei 101 took the crown with a 508-metre spire; Taipei’s record would fall to the Gulf’s concrete megatalls. Most were Office (5) and Mixed-use (1).
- 01Taipei 101Taipei · Taiwan508 m 1,667 ft
- 02Shanghai World Financial CenterShanghai · China492 m 1,614 ft
- 03Trump International Hotel and TowerChicago · United States423.2 m 1,388 ft
- 04International Finance CentreHong Kong · China412 m 1,352 ft
- 05Bank of America TowerNew York City · United States365.8 m 1,200 ft
The five tallest of the decade are listed above; 2 more on the top 100 were completed in this era. See them all in the full ranking.
The megatall decade
Burj Khalifa entered no contest for the world record, and supertalls became routine from Shanghai to Jeddah. Most were Mixed-use (18) and Office (11).
- 01Burj KhalifaDubai · United Arab Emirates828 m 2,717 ft
- 02Shanghai TowerShanghai · China632 m 2,073 ft
- 03Makkah Royal Clock TowerMecca · Saudi Arabia601 m 1,972 ft
- 04Ping An Finance CentreShenzhen · China599.1 m 1,966 ft
- 05Lotte World TowerSeoul · South Korea554.5 m 1,819 ft
The five tallest of the decade are listed above; 41 more on the top 100 were completed in this era. See them all in the full ranking.
Merdeka and the 600-metre club
Merdeka 118 became only the second completed megatall, upping the pace among 500-metre-plus towers. Most were Mixed-use (15) and Office (8).
- 01Merdeka 118Kuala Lumpur · Malaysia678.9 m 2,227 ft
- 02Wuhan Greenland CenterWuhan · China475.6 m 1,560 ft
- 03Central Park TowerNew York City · United States472.4 m 1,550 ft
- 04111 West 57th StreetNew York City · United States435.3 m 1,428 ft
- 05One VanderbiltNew York City · United States427 m 1,401 ft
The five tallest of the decade are listed above; 29 more on the top 100 were completed in this era. See them all in the full ranking.
Decade assignments use the CTBUH-style completion year recorded per building. Two-thirds of the current top 100 were completed in the last 25 years; earlier eras are represented only by the handful of towers that remain tall enough to hold a place today.
Browse by individual completion year ↗