List of tallest buildings and structures

The assessment of the height of artificial structures has been controversial. Because varying standards have been used by different organizations, the accepted height of these structures or buildings depends on which standards are accepted. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has changed its definitions over time. Some of the controversy regarding the definitions and assessment of tall structures and buildings has included the following:

• the definition of a structure, a building and a tower
• whether a structure, building or tower under construction should be included in any assessment
• whether a structure, building or tower has to be officially opened before it is assessed
• whether structures built in and rising above water should have their below-water height included in any assessment.
• whether a structure, building or tower that is guyed is assessed in the same category as self-supporting structures.

Within an accepted definition of a building further controversy has included the following factors:

• whether only habitable height of the building is considered
• whether communication towers with observation galleries should be considered "habitable" in this sense
• whether rooftop antennas, viewing platforms or any other architecture that does not form a habitable floor should be included in the assessment
• whether a floor built at a high level of a telecommunications or viewing tower should change the tower's definition to that of a "building"

Warsaw radio mast, the height record holder from 1974 to 1991

The CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, was the world's tallest freestanding structure from 1975 to 2007.

This category does not require the structure to be "officially" open, but does require it to be "topped out."

The tallest artificial structure is Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper in Dubai that reached 829.8 m (2,722 ft) in height on January 17, 2009.[3] By April 8, 2008 it had been built higher than the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota, US.[4] That September it officially surpassed Poland's 646.38 m (2,120.7 ft) Warsaw radio mast, which stood from 1974 to 1991, to become the tallest structure ever built. Guyed lattice towers such as these masts had held the world height record since 1954.

The Petronius Platform stands 610 m (2,000 ft) off the sea floor, leading some, including Guinness World Records 2007, to claim it as the tallest freestanding structure in the world, until surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in 2010. However, it is debated whether underwater height should be counted, in the same manner as height below ground is ignored on buildings. The Troll A platform is 472 m (1,549 ft), without any part of that height being supported by wires. The tension-leg type of oil platform has even greater below-water heights with several examples more than 1,000 m (3,300 ft) deep. However, these platforms are not considered constant structures as the vast majority of their height is made up of the length of the tendons attaching the floating platforms to the sea floor. Despite this, Guinness World Records 2009 listed the Ursa tension leg platform as the tallest structure in the world with a total height of 1,306 m (4,285 ft). The Magnolia Tension-leg Platform in the Gulf of Mexico is even taller with a total height of 1,432 m (4,698 ft).

Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, set records in three of the four skyscraper categories at the time it opened in 2004; at the time the Burj Khalifa opened in 2010 it remained the world's tallest inhabited building 509.2 m (1,671 ft) as measured to its architectural height (spire). The height of its roof 449.2 m (1,474 ft) and highest occupied floor 439.2 m (1,441 ft) had been surpassed by the Shanghai World Financial Center with corresponding heights of 487 and 474 m (1,598 and 1,555 ft). Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) was the highest in the final category: the greatest height to top of antenna of any building in the world at 527 m (1,729 ft).

Burj Khalifa broke the height record in all four categories for completed buildings.

Tallest structure by category

Due to the disagreements over how to measure height and classify structures, engineers have created various definitions for categories of buildings and other structures. One measure includes the absolute height of a building, another includes only spires and other permanent architectural features, but not antennas. The tradition of including the spire on top of a building and not including the antenna dates back to the rivalry between the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street. A modern-day example is that the antenna on top of Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) is not considered part of its architectural height, while the spires on top of the Petronas Twin Towers are counted.

Note: The following table is a list of the tallest completed structure in each of the structural categories below. For a list of structures by function see the list later in the article. There can only be one structure in each category, unless the tallest is the same for more than one structure in the same category.

Category	Structure	Country	Location	Height (meters)	Height (feet)	Year built	Coordinates
Building[5] (list)	Burj Khalifa	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	829.8	2,722	2010	25°11′50.0″N 55°16′26.6″E
Compliant tower	Petronius (oil platform)	United States	Gulf of Mexico	640	2,100	2000	29°06′30″N 87°56′30″W
Self-supporting tower[6] (list)	Tokyo Skytree	Japan	Tokyo	634	2,080	2011	35°42′36.5″N 139°48′39″E
Guyed steel lattice mast	KVLY-TV mast	United States	Blanchard, North Dakota	629	2,063	1963	47°20′32″N 97°17′21″W
Hyperboloid structure	Canton Tower	China	Guangzhou	604	1,982	2010	23°6′32″N 113°19′8″E
Clock tower (multi-functional structure)	Abraj Al Bait	Saudi Arabia	Mecca	601	1,972	2012	21°25′08″N 39°49′35″E
Fixed steel structure	Bullwinkle (oil platform)	United States	Gulf of Mexico	529	1,736	1988	27°53′01″N 90°54′04″W
Moveable object	Troll A platform	Norway	North Sea	472	1,549	1996	60°40′N 3°40′E
Mast radiator	Lualualei VLF transmitter	United States	Lualualei, Hawaii	458	1,503	1972	21°25′11.87″N 158°08′53.67″W ; 21°25′13.38″N 158°09′14.35″W
Twin building	Petronas Twin Towers	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	452	1,483	1998	3°09′27.45″N 101°42′40.7″E; 3°09′29.45″N 101°42′43.4″E
Steel building[7]	Willis Tower	United States	Chicago, Illinois	442	1,450	1974	41.8789°N 87.6358°W / 41.8789; -87.6358
Building	Building	iran	Tehran	435	1,427	2007
Radar	Dimona Radar Facility	Israel	Dimona	400	1,312	2008	30°58′6.93″N 35°05′49.64″E ; 30°58′32.46″N 35°05′55.25″E
Lattice tower	Kyiv TV Tower	Ukraine	Kyiv	385	1,263	1973	50°28′16.49″N 30°27′11.97″E
Electricity pylon	Jintang-Cezi Overhead Powerline Link	China	Jintang Island	380	1,247	2019	30°05′0.88″N 121°53′10.5″E ; 30°05′47.16″N 121°54′34.3″E
Partially guyed tower	Gerbrandy Tower	Netherlands	IJsselstein	366.8	1,203	1961	52°00′36.24″N 05°03′12.87″E
Guyed tubular steel mast	TV Tower Vinnytsia	Ukraine	Vinnytsia	354	1,161	1961	49°14′30.04″N 28°25′25.25″E
Bridge	Millau Viaduct	France	Millau	342	1,122	2004	44°05′09.97″N 03°01′17.94″E
Blaw-Knox tower (diamond cantilever tower)	Lakihegy Tower	Hungary	Szigetszentmiklós	314	1,031	1946	47°22′23″N 19°00′16″E
Dam	Jinping-I Dam	China	Liangshan	305	1,001	2013	28°11′07″N 101°37′42″E
Landmark Tower design	Star Tower	United States	Cincinnati	291	954	1991	39°12′01″N 84°31′22″W
Elevator test tower	H1 Tower	China	Guangzhou	273.8	898	2020	23°01′03″N 113°17′30″E
Wind turbine	Haliade-X Prototype	Netherlands	Rotterdam	270	886	2019	51°57′44.8″N 4°0′41.96″E
Minaret	Djamaa el Djazaïr	Algeria	Algiers	265	870	2019	36°44′09″N 3°08′17″E
Solar power tower	Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park	United Arab Emirates	Saih Al-Dahal	262	860	2020	24.7547°N 55.365°E / 24.7547; 55.365
Crane (machine)	LR 13000[8]	Germany		248	814	2013	(movable)
Aerial tramway support tower	Cat Hai – Phu Long cable car towers[9]	Vietnam	Hạ Long	214.8	704	2020
Jackup rig	Noble Lloyd Noble[10]	Liberia		214	702	2016	(movable)
Cooling tower	Kalisindh Thermal Power Station	India	Jhalawar	202[11]	663	2012	24°32′04.97″N 76°05′57.89″E ; 24°31′58.33″N 76°06′06.81″E
Flagpole	Cairo Flagpole	Egypt	New Administrative Capital	201.952[12]	662.572	2021
Monument	Gateway Arch	United States	St. Louis, Missouri	192	630	1965	38°37′28.62″N 90°11′5.87″W
Water tower	Main tower of Kuwait Towers	Kuwait	Kuwait City	187	614	1979	29°23′22.75″N 48°00′11.57″E
Statue	Statue of Unity	India	Narmada district, Gujarat	182	597	2018	21.8380°N 73.7191°E / 21.8380; 73.7191 (Statue of Unity)
Masonry tower	Anaconda Smelter Stack	United States	Anaconda, Montana	178.3	585	1919	46°06′36.53″N 112°54′48.8″W
Inclined structure	Olympic Stadium	Canada	Montreal	175	574	1976	45°33′33.53″N 73°33′7.61″W
Obelisk	San Jacinto Monument	United States	La Porte, Texas	173.7	570	1939	29°44′59.46″N 95°04′50.52″W
Power station building	Niederaussem Power Station	Germany	Bergheim	172	564	2002	50°59′44″N 06°40′09″E
Ferris wheel	High Roller	United States	Las Vegas	167.6	550	2014	36.117402°N 115.168127°W / 36.117402; -115.168127 (High Roller)
Masonry building	Mole Antonelliana	Italy	Torino	167.5	550	1889	45°04′8.45″N 7°41′35.62″E
Church tower	Ulmer Münster	Germany	Ulm	162	530	1890	48°23′55″N 9°59′30.78″E
Industrial hall	Vehicle Assembly Building	United States	Kennedy Space Center, Florida	160	525	1966	28°35′9.64″N 80°39′2.11″W
Memorial cross	Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos	Spain	El Escorial	152.4	500	1957	40°38′31.46″N 4°9′19.6″W
Air traffic control tower	Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 Control Tower	Malaysia	Sepang	141.3	463.6	2013[13]	2.740486°N 101.679069°E / 2.740486; 101.679069 (Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 Control Tower)
Tallest swing ride	Bollywood Skyflyer[14]	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	140	460	2021	25°5′0.0″N 55°18′0″E
Roller coaster	Kingda Ka	United States	Jackson, New Jersey	138.98	456	2005	40°08′26.54″N 74°25′59.83″W
Tomb	Great Pyramid of Giza	Egypt	Giza	138.8	455.2	2560 BCE	29°58′44.93″N 31°08′3.09″E
Drop tower	Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom	United States	Jackson Township, NJ	139	456	2014	40.140623°N 74.433543°W / 40.140623; -74.433543
Gantry crane	Kockums Crane	South Korea	Ulsan	138	453	1974
Stupa	Jetavanaramaya	Sri Lanka	Anuradhapura	122	400	273–301 CE	8°21′06″N 80°24′13″E
Wooden structure	Gliwice Radio Tower	Poland	Gliwice	118	387	1935	50°18′48.12″N 18°41′20.26″E
Storage silo	Swissmill Tower	Switzerland	Zurich	118	387	2016	47.389628°N 8.527086°E / 47.389628; 8.527086
Gasometer	Gasometer Oberhausen	Germany	Oberhausen	117.5	386	1929	Currently used as an exhibition and event hall
Vertical axis wind turbine	Éole[15]	Canada	Gaspésie	110	361	1987	49°04′35″N 66°44′06″W
Clock tower	Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower	United Kingdom	Birmingham	100	328	1908	52.4499°N 1.9307°W / 52.4499; -1.9307
Wooden building	Mjøstårnet	Norway	Brumunddal	85.4	280	2019	60°52′38″N 10°55′51″E
Sphere	Avicii Arena	Sweden	Stockholm	85	279	1989	59°17′36.92″N 18°04′58.79″E
Lighthouse	Île Vierge Lighthouse	France	Finistère	82.5	271	1902
Gopuram	Murudeshwara Temple	India	Murudeshwara	76	249	2008	14°05′39.11″N 74°29′6.59″E
Loam building	Weilburg Pisé House	Germany	Weilburg	23.2	76	1828	50°29′13.28″N 8°15′34.11″E

Tallest destroyed structures by category, not surpassed by existing structures

There are some destroyed architectural structures which were taller than the tallest existing structure of their type. There are also destroyed structures omitted from this list that had been surpassed in height prior to being destroyed.

Category	Structure	Country	Location	Height (metres)	Height (feet)	Coordinates	Remarks
Guyed mast	Warsaw Radio Mast	Poland	Gąbin	646.38	2,121	52°22′3.74″N 19°48′8.73″E	Completed in 1974, collapsed on August 8, 1991
Scientific research tower	BREN Tower	United States	Nevada Test Site	462	1,516	36°46′50.23″N 116°14′36.9″W	Completed in 1962, demolished May 23, 2012[16]
Guyed tubular steel mast	Shushi-Wan Omega Transmitter	Japan	Tsushima	389	1,276	34°36′53″N 129°27′13″E	Completed in 1973, dismantled in 1998
Structure for scientific experiment	Smokey Shot Tower	United States	Nevada Test Site	213	700	37°11′13.63″N 116°4′7.93″W	Guyed mast, which carried 44 kt yield nuclear bomb "Smokey" (part of operation Plumbbob) on top until its explosion on August 31, 1957
Solar updraft tower	Manzanares Solar Chimney	Spain	Manzanares	195	640	39°02′34.45″N 3°15′12.21″W	Completed in 1982, the tower's guy-wires were not protected against corrosion and failed due to rust and storm winds causing the tower to collapse in 1989. Small-scale experimental model of a solar draft tower, newer proposals if built could become the tallest structure on earth.
Wooden structure	Mühlacker Wood Radio Tower	Germany	Mühlacker	190	623	48°56′27.67″N 8°51′8.24″E	Completed in 1934, destroyed on April 6, 1945, by the Germans to prevent usage by the Allies, replaced by mast radiator
Masonry building	Mole Antonelliana	Italy	Turin	167.5	549.5	45°04′8.45″N 7°41′35.62″E	Spire destroyed by a tornado in 1953 (rebuilt since then)
Pre-Industrial era building	Lincoln Cathedral	United Kingdom	Lincoln	160	524	53°14′3.26″N 0°32′10.54″W	Completed in 1311, spire blown off in 1549
Telescope	Arecibo Telescope	Puerto Rico	Arecibo, Puerto Rico	150	492	18°20′39″N 66°45′10″W	Completed in 1963, collapsed on December 1, 2020
Gasometer	Gasometer Zeche Nordstern	Germany	Gelsenkirchen	147	482		Completed in 1938, damaged at an air raid on May 13, 1940 in such a manner, that it was not usable any more and had to be demolished.
Storage silo	Henninger Turm	Germany	Frankfurt	120	394	50°05′50.18″N 8°41′36.81″E	Constructed in 1961, demolished in 2013

Tallest structure by function

Category	Structure	Country	Location	Architectural top
				(metres)	(feet)
Mixed-use*	Burj Khalifa	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	830	2,722
Industrial	Petronius (oil platform)	United States	Gulf of Mexico	640	2,100
Office	Ping An Finance Center	China	Shenzhen	555	1,821
Residential	Central Park Tower	United States	New York City	472.4	1,550
Military	Large masts of INS Kattabomman	India	Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu	471	1,545
Hotel	Gevora Hotel[17]	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	356.3	1,169
Scientific research tower	Amazon Tall Tower Observatory	Brazil	160 km NE of Manaus	325[18]	1,066
Educational	Moscow State University	Russia	Moscow	240	787
Religious	Djamaa el Djazaïr	Algeria	Algiers	265	870
Hospital	Outpatient Center, Houston Methodist Hospital	United States	Houston	156.05	511.8

* "Mixed-use" is defined as having three or more real estate uses (such as retail, office, hotel, etc.) that are physically and functionally integrated in a single property and are mutually supporting.[19]

Up until the late 1990s, the definition of “tallest building” was not altogether clear. It was generally understood to be the height of the building to the top of its architectural elements including spires, but not including "temporary" structures (such as antennas or flagpoles), which could be added or changed relatively easily without requiring major changes to the building's design. Other criteria for height measurement generally were not considered, which occasionally caused some controversy.

One historic case involved the building now famous for the Times Square Ball. Known as One Times Square (at 1475 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan), it was the headquarters for The New York Times, which gave Times Square its name. Completed in 1905, it reached a height of 364 feet (111 meters) to its roof, or 420 feet (130 meters) including its rooftop flagpole, which the Times hoped would give it a record high status but because a flagpole is not an integral architectural part of a building, One Times Square was not generally considered to be taller than the 390-foot-high (120 m) Park Row Building in Lower Manhattan, which was therefore still New York's tallest.[20]

A bigger controversy was the rivalry between two New York skyscrapers built in the Roaring Twenties—the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street. The latter was 927 feet (283 meters) tall, had a shorter pinnacle, and had a much higher top occupied floor (the second category in the 1996 criteria for tallest building).[21] In contrast, the Chrysler Building employed a very long 125-foot (38 m) spire secretly assembled inside the building to claim the title of world's tallest building with a total height of 1,048 feet (319 m), despite having a lower top occupied floor and a shorter height when both buildings' spires are not counted in their heights.[22] Although the architects of record for 40 Wall were H. Craig Severance and Yasuo Matsui, the firm of Shreve & Lamb (who also designed the Empire State Building) served as consulting architects. They wrote a newspaper article claiming that 40 Wall was actually the tallest, since it contained the world's highest usable floor. They pointed out that the observation deck of 40 Wall was nearly 100 feet (30 m) higher than the top floor of the Chrysler, whose surpassing spire was strictly ornamental and essentially inaccessible.[23] Despite the protest, the Chrysler Building was generally accepted as the tallest building in the world for almost a year, until it was surpassed by the Empire State Building’s 1,250 feet (380 meters) in 1931.

That was in turn surpassed by the 1,368-foot-high (417 m) twin towers of New York’s original World Trade Center in 1972, which were in turn surpassed by the Sears Tower in Chicago in 1974. Now called the Willis Tower (since 2009) it was 1,451 feet (442 meters) to its flat rooftop, or 1,518 feet (463 meters) including its original antennas.[24] But in 1978 One World Trade Center (commonly known as the north tower) attained a taller absolute height when it added its 360-foot (110 m) new broadcasting antenna, for a total height of 1,728 feet (527 meters). The WTC north tower maintained this height record (including its antenna) from 1978 until 2000, when the owners of the Willis Tower extended its broadcasting antennae for a total height of 1,729 feet (527 meters).[24] Thus the status of the Willis Tower as the “totally” tallest was restored in the face of a new threat looming in the Far East—the “Siamese Twins.”

The Petronas Towers remain the tallest twin towers in the world.

A major controversy erupted upon completion of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998. These twin towers, at 1,483 feet (452 meters), had a higher architectural height (spires, not antennas), but a lower absolute pinnacle height and a lower top occupied floor than the Willis Tower in Chicago. Counting buildings as structures with floors throughout, and with antenna masts excluded, the Willis was still considered the tallest at that time. Excluding their spires, which are 9 meters (30 feet) higher than the flat roof of Willis, the Petronas Towers are not taller than Willis. At their convention in Chicago, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) found the Willis Tower (without its antennas) to be the third-tallest building, and the Petronas Towers (with their spires) to be the world's two tallest buildings.[20]

Responding to the ensuing controversy, the CTBUH then revised their criteria and defined four categories in which the world's tallest building can be measured,[25] retaining the old criterion of height to architectural top, and adding three new categories:[20]

1. Height to Architectural Top (including spires and pinnacles, but not antennas, masts or flagpoles). This measurement is the most widely used and is used to define the rankings of the 100 Tallest Buildings in the World.
2. Highest Occupied Floor
3. Height to Top of Roof (omitted from criteria from November 2009 onwards)[26]
4. Height to Tip

The height-to-roof criterion was discontinued because relatively few modern tall buildings possess flat rooftops, making this criterion difficult to determine and measure.[27] The CTBUH has further clarified their definitions of building height, including specific criteria concerning subbasements and ground level entrances (height measured from lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance rather than from a previously undefined "main entrance"), building completion (must be topped out both structurally and architecturally, fully clad, and able to be occupied), condition of the highest occupied floor (must be continuously used by people living or working and be conditioned, thus including observation decks, but not mechanical floors) and other aspects of tall buildings.[27][28]

The height is measured from the level of the lowest, significant, open-air, pedestrian entrance. At the time, the Willis Tower held first place in the second and third categories, the Petronas Towers held the first category, and the original WTC north tower held the fourth (height to tip) category with its antenna.[20] In 2000, however, a new antenna mast was placed on the Willis Tower, giving it the record in the fourth category. On April 20, 2004, the 101-storey Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan, was completed, taking the world record for the first three categories. On July 21, 2007, it was announced that Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE, had surpassed Taipei 101. Since its completion in early 2010, Burj Khalifa leads in all categories (the first building to do so) with its spire height of 2,722 feet (830 meters).

Before Burj Khalifa was completed, Willis Tower led in the height-to-tip category with 1,729 feet (527 meters) after its antenna was extended in 2000, making Willis Tower slightly taller height-to-tip than the WTC north tower's antenna that measured 1,728 feet (527 meters). After the September 11, 2001, attacks, the WTC became the world's tallest two buildings to be destroyed or demolished. They took that distinction from the Singer Building, which stood 612 feet (187 meters) tall until the late 1960s where One Liberty Plaza now stands right across Church Street from the WTC site.

A different superlative for skyscrapers is their number of floors. The original World Trade Center set that record at 110 in the early 1970s, and this was not surpassed until the Burj Khalifa opened in 2010.

Tall freestanding structures such as the CN Tower, the Ostankino Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower are excluded from these categories because they are not "habitable buildings", which are defined as frame structures made with floors and walls throughout.[2]

Freestanding structures must not be supported by guy wires, the sea or other types of support. It therefore does not include guyed masts, partially guyed towers and drilling platforms but does include towers, skyscrapers (pinnacle height) and chimneys. (See also history of tallest skyscrapers.)

The world's tallest freestanding structure on land is defined as the tallest self-supporting artificial structure that stands above ground. This definition is different from that of world's tallest building or world's tallest structure based on the percentage of the structure that is occupied and whether or not it is self-supporting or supported by exterior cables. Likewise, this definition does not count structures that are built underground or on the seabed, such as the Petronius Platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Visit world's tallest structure by category for a list of various other definitions.

The tallest freestanding structure on land is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The building surpassed the height of the previous record holder, the 553.3 m (1,815 ft) CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, on September 12, 2007. It was completed in 2010, with final height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft).

History

The following is a list of structures that have held the title as the tallest freestanding structure on land.

Tallest historical structures

Record from	Record held (years)	Name and location	Constructed	Height (metres)	Height (feet)	Coordinates	Notes
c. 9500 BCE[29]	1,500	Göbekli Tepe, Anatolia	c. 9500 BCE	5-6	18	37°13′23″N 38°55′21″E	The earliest temple of humankind.
c. 8000 BCE	4,000	Tower of Jericho, West Bank, Palestinian Territory	c. 8000 BCE	8.5	27.9	31.872041°N 35.443981°E / 31.872041; 35.443981
c. 4000 BCE	1,350	Anu Ziggurat, Uruk	c. 4000 BCE	13	40
c. 2650 BCE	40	Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt	c. 2650 BCE	62.5	205	29°52′16.53″N 31°12′59.59″E
c. 2610 BCE	5	Meidum Pyramid in Egypt	c. 2610 BCE	91.65	301	29°23′17″N 31°09′25″E	Shortly after completion Meidum Pyramid collapsed due to bad design/instability and is now 65 m (213 ft).
c. 2605 BCE	5	Bent Pyramid in Egypt	c. 2605 BCE	104.71	344	29°47′25″N 31°12′33″E	Angle of slope decreased during construction to avoid collapse.
c. 2600 BCE	30	Red Pyramid of Sneferu, Egypt	c. 2600 BCE	105	344	29°48′31.39″N 31°12′22.49″E
c. 2570 BCE	3,881	Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt	c. 2570 BCE	146.6	481	29°58′44.93″N 31°08′3.09″E	By 1647, the Great Pyramid had eroded to a height of approximately 139 m (456 ft).
1311	237	Lincoln Cathedral in England	1092–1311	160	525	53°14′3.26″N 0°32′10.54″W	The central spire was destroyed in a storm in 1549. While the reputed height of 525 ft (160 m) is accepted by most sources,[30][31][32][33][34][35] others consider it doubtful[36]
1549	20	St. Mary's Church in Stralsund, Germany	1384–1478	151	495	54°18′36.01″N 13°5′14.81″E	(See also resumption 1573-1647). Today its church tower has a dome and stands at 104 m (341.2 ft) tall.
1569	4	Beauvais Cathedral in France	1225–1604	153	502	49°25′49″N 2°05′43″E	Spire collapsed in 1573 (the cross was removed in 1572); today, the church stands at a height of 67.2 m (220.5 ft).
1573	94 (20+74)	St. Mary's Church in Stralsund, Germany	1384–1478	151	495	54°18′36.01″N 13°5′14.81″E	(See also 1549-69). The church tower's spire burnt down after a lightning strike in 1647. Today the tower has a dome and stands at a height of 104 m (341 ft).
1647	227	Strasbourg Cathedral in France	1439	142	466	48°34′54.22″N 7°45′1.48″E	By 1647, the Great Pyramid had eroded to a height of approximately 139 m (456 ft) hence Strasbourg Cathedral was higher.
1874	2	St. Nikolai in Hamburg, Germany	1846–1874	147	483	53°32′50.94″N 9°59′26.12″E
1876	4	Cathédrale Notre Dame in Rouen, France	1202–1876	151	495	49°26′24.54″N 1°5′41.85″E
1880	4	Cologne Cathedral in Germany	1248–1880	157.38	515	50°56′28.08″N 6°57′25.73″E ;50°56′29.11″N 6°57′25.85″E
1884	5	Washington Monument in Washington D.C., United States	1884	169.29	555	38°53′22.08″N 77°2′6.89″W	The world's tallest all-stone structure, as well as the tallest obelisk-form structure.
1889	42	Eiffel Tower in Paris, France	1887–1889	312	1,024	48°51′29.77″N 2°17′40.09″E	First structure to exceed 300 metres in height. The addition of a telecommunications tower in the 1950s brought the overall height to 330 m (1,080 ft).
1930	1	Chrysler Building in New York, United States	1928–1930	319	1,046	40°45′5.78″N 73°58′31.52″W
1931	36	Empire State Building in New York, United States	1930–1931	381	1,250	40°44′54.95″N 73°59′8.71″W	First building with 100+ storeys. The addition of a pinnacle and antennas later increased its overall height to 448.7 m (1,472 ft). This was subsequently lowered to 443.1 m (1,454 ft).
1967	8	Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Soviet Union	1963–1967	540	1,762	55°49′10.94″N 37°36′41.79″E	Remains the tallest in Europe. Fire in 2000 led to extensive renovation.
1975	32	CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada	1973–1976	553.33	1,815.39	43°38′33.22″N 79°23′13.41″W	The tallest in the Western Hemisphere.
2007	present	Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates	2004–2009	829.8	2,722	25°11′50.0″N 55°16′26.6″E	Holder of world's tallest freestanding structure. Topped out at 829.8 m (2,722 ft) in 2009.

Diagram of the principal high buildings of the Old World, 1884

Notable mentions include the Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria, built in the third century BC and estimated between 115–135 m (377–443 ft). It was the world's tallest non-pyramidal structure for many centuries. Another notable mention includes the Jetavanaramaya stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, which was built in the third century, and was similarly tall at 122 m (400 ft). These were both the world's tallest or second-tallest non-pyramidal structure for over a thousand years.

The tallest secular building between the collapse of the Pharos and the erection of the Washington Monument may have been the Torre del Mangia in Siena, which is 102 m (335 ft) tall, and was constructed in the first half of the fourteenth century, and the 97-metre-tall (318 ft) Torre degli Asinelli in Bologna, also Italy, built between 1109 and 1119.

Towers include observation towers, monuments and other structures not generally considered to be "habitable buildings", they are meant for "regular access by humans, but not for living in or office work, and are self-supporting or freestanding, which means no guy-wires for support", meaning it excludes from this list of continuously habitable buildings and skyscrapers as well as radio and TV masts.

Bridge towers or pylons, chimneys, transmission towers, and most large statues allow human access for maintenance, but not as part of their normal operation, and are therefore not considered to be towers.

The Tokyo Skytree, completed in February 2012, is 634 m (2,080 ft), making it the tallest tower, and second-tallest freestanding structure in the world.[38][39][40]

History of tallest tower

Tokyo Tower held the record of being the tallest tower in the world from 1958 to 1967. In addition, it held the record of being the tallest structure in Japan from 1958 to 2011, when the Tokyo Skytree (the current tallest tower in the world) surpassed it.

The following is a list of structures that have historically held the title as the tallest towers in the world.

Tallest historical towers

From	To	Tower	Location	Pinnacle height
280 BC	1180 AD	Pharos Lighthouse	Alexandria, Egypt	122 m
1180	1240	Malmesbury Abbey Tower	Malmesbury, UK	131.3 m
1240	1311	Tower of Old St Paul's Cathedral	London, UK	150 m
1311	1549	Tower of Lincoln Cathedral	Lincoln, UK	159.7 m
1549	1569	Tower of St Mary's church	Stralsund, Germany	151 m
1569	1573	St. Pierre's Cathedral	Beauvais, France	153 m
1573	1647	Tower of St Mary's church	Stralsund, Germany	151 m
1647	1874	Tower of Strasbourg Cathedral	Strasbourg, France	142 m
1874	1876	Tower of St. Nikolai	Hamburg, Germany	147 m
1876	1880	Tower of Rouen Cathedral	Rouen, France	151 m
1880	1889	Tower of Cologne Cathedral	Cologne, Germany	157.38 m
1889	1958	Eiffel Tower	Paris, France	312.3 m
1958	1967	Tokyo Tower	Tokyo, Japan	332.6 m
1967	1975	Ostankino Tower	Moscow, Russia	540.1 m
1975	2010	CN Tower	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	553.33 m
2010	2011	Canton Tower	Guangzhou, China	600 m
2011	present	Tokyo Skytree	Tokyo, Japan	634 m

Burj Khalifa and other tallest structures

The list categories are:

• The structures (supported) list uses pinnacle height and includes architectural structures of any type that might use some external support constructions like cables and are fully built in air. Only the three tallest are listed, as more than fifty US TV masts have stated heights of 600–610 metres (1,970–2,000 ft).
• The structures (media supported) list uses pinnacle height and includes architectural structures of any type that are not totally built in the air but are using support from other, denser media like salt water. All structures greater than 500 metres (1,640 ft) are listed.
• The freestanding structures list uses pinnacle height and includes structures over 500 metres (1,640 ft) that do not use guy-wires or other external supports. This means truly free standing on its own or, in similar sense, non-supported structures.
• The building list uses architectural height (excluding antennas) and includes only buildings, defined as consisting of habitable floors. Both of these follow CTBUH guidelines. All supertall buildings (450 m and higher) are listed.

Notes:

• Eight buildings appear on the freestanding structures category list with heights different from another category. This is due to the different measurement specifications of those lists.
• Only current heights and, where reasonable, target heights are listed. Historical heights of structures that no longer exist, for example, for having collapsed, are excluded.

Source: Emporis

• List of tallest buildings
• List of tallest towers
• List of tallest structures
• List of tallest freestanding structures
• List of tallest freestanding steel structures
• List of tallest chimneys
• List of tallest bridges
• List of tallest dams
• Lattice tower
• Solar power tower
• Tallest industrial buildings
• List of elevator test towers
• List of hyperboloid structures
• List of tallest cooling towers
• List of tallest oil platforms
• List of tallest statues
• List of tallest minarets
• List of tallest church buildings
• List of tallest wooden buildings
• List of tallest clock towers
• List of tallest residential buildings
• List of tallest hotels
• List of tallest hospitals
• List of tallest educational buildings

• Tallest Buildings in the Islamic World (2017)
• Collection of many record holders on Skyscraperpage
• tallestbuildingintheworld.net Archived May 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
• A map visualization of each country's tallest building
• The highest abandoned skyscraper in the world