What Is the Tallest Building in the World?

The world’s tallest building is, as of 2011, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Burj Khalifa stands at a height of 2,625 feet, or 800 meters. 

There are other very tall buildings in the world as well, including those that previously held the record before the Burj Khalifa. 

• Prior to the construction of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the tallest building in the world was Taipei 101 in Taipei, at 509 meters or a total of 1,671 feet. 
• The next tallest building in the world is the twin set of towers in Kuala Lumpur known as the Petronas Towers.  These towers, which are joined by a bridge that spans the gap between them towards the top of the building, are 1,483 feet tall (or a total of 452 meters tall in the metric system of measurement that is used in Kuala Lumpur.)

Other Tall Buildings

There are other buildings in the world that are very tall, but none of them can compare to the buildings that are arising in the developing world, such as those in United Arab Emirates, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur. 

To give you an idea of how much taller these buildings are, the tallest building in America at the present time is the Sears Tower, at 442 meters or 1,450 feet. This is a full ten meters shorter than the shortest building in the developing world, and half the size of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.