10 of The Best Skylines of The World Ranked

Every city in the world has a unique skyline that contributes towards building a city’s identity. Lately, several cities in the world are trying to build iconic skylines to surpass others and getting hold of worldwide recognition.

So who is actually winning this ever so growing competition of best skylines of the world? In order to put things straight Emporis, the International Building Database attempted to quantify skylines by looking at the number and height of buildings in the major cities of the world.

To rank skylines, Emporis looked at the visual impact of a skyline generated by the number and height of its skyscrapers (40 floors or more) and high-rises (12-39 floors). Emporis only considered completed buildings and assigned each building a point value based on its floor count. Emporis calculation methodology can be seen here. This calculation does not include TV towers, masts, bridges, statues or other under construction buildings.

As drawn entirely from Emporis’s statistics, 10 of the best skylines of the world are ranked as follows:

10. Bangkok, Thailand

Points: 16,241

Population: 8,280,925

Area: 1,568 km²

No. of Buildings: 1,047

Tallest Buildings: Baiyoke Tower II 304m (997 ft.), The River South Tower 266m (873 ft.), State Tower 247m (810 ft.), Centara Grand at Central World 235m (771 ft.), The Met 231m (758 ft.).



Image: Flickr / Tore Bustad

9. Shanghai, China

Points: 17,553

Population: 17,836,133

Area: 6,638 km²

No. of Buildings: 1,304

Tallest Buildings: Shanghai Tower 632m (2,073 ft.), Shanghai World Financial Center 492m (1,614 ft.), Jin Mao Tower 421m (1,381 ft.), Shimao International Plaza 333m (1,092 ft.), White Magnolia Plaza 1 320m (1,050 ft.).



Image: Flickr / Anthony Curulli

8. São Paulo, Brazil

Points: 18,442

Population: 11,316,149

Area: 1,523 km²

No. of Buildings: 6,197

Tallest Buildings: Palácio W. Zarzur 170m (558 ft.), Edifício Itália 165m (541 ft.), Altino Arantes 161m (528 ft.), Torre Norte 158m (499 ft.), Ipês 158m (518 ft.).



Image: Flickr / Felipe Lange Borges

7. Chicago, USA

Points: 20,339

Population: 2,714,856

Area: 589 km²

No. of Buildings: 3,003

Tallest Buildings: Willis Tower 442m (1,450 ft.), Trump International Hotel & Tower 423m (1,387 ft.), Aon Center 346m (1,135 ft.), John Hancock Center 344m (1,128 ft.), AT&T Corporate Center 307m (1,007 ft.).



Image: Flickr / Ken Yuel

6. Dubai, UAE

Points: 21,230

Population: 2,104,895

Area: 3,885 km²

No. of Buildings: 978

Tallest Buildings: Burj Khalifa 828m (2,716 ft.), Princess Tower 413m (1,355 ft.), 23 Marina 393m (1,289 ft.), Elite Residence 380m (1,246 ft.), Almas Tower 363m (1,191 ft.).



Image: Flickr / KhanSaqib

5. Seoul, South Korea

Points: 21,783

Population: 10,581,728

Area: 616 km²

No. of Buildings: 3,193

Tallest Buildings: Three IFC Office Tower 279m (915 ft.), Tower Palace Three, Tower G 264m (865 ft.), Mok-dong Hyperion I, Tower A 256m (840 ft.), KLI 63 Building 249m (817 ft.), Federation of Korean Industries Head Office 244m (800 ft.).



Image: Flickr / Utathya Bhadra

4. Moscow, Russia

Points: 22,193

Population: 11,503,501

Area: 1,080 km²

No. of Buildings: 11,678

Tallest Buildings: Vostok 374m (1,226 ft.), OKO Apartment Tower 352m (1,155 ft.), Mercury City 339m (1,111 ft.), Eurasia Tower 309m (1,014 ft.), Capital City Moscow Tower 302m (990 ft.).



Image: Flickr / Kate Morozova

3. Singapore

Points: 23,058

Population: 5,312,400

Area: 710 km²

No. of Buildings: 6,625

Tallest Buildings: Republic Plaza 280m (918 ft.), UOB Plaza One 280m (918 ft.), OUB Centre 280m (918 ft.), Capital Tower 253m (830 ft.), Sky Suites@Anson 250m (820 ft.).



Image: Flickr / Erwin Soo

2. New York City, USA

Points: 43,143

Population: 8,336,697

Area: 800 km²

No. of Buildings: 6,098

Tallest Buildings: One World Trade Center 541m (1,775 ft.), 432 Park Avenue 426m (1,397 ft.), Empire State Building 381m (1,250 ft.), Bank of America Tower 366m (1,200 ft.), Chrysler Building 319m (1,046 ft.).



Image: Flickr / Andy Kobel

1. Hong Kong, China

Points: 133,525

Population: 7,061,200

Area: 1,053 km²

No. of Buildings: 7,926

Tallest Buildings: International Commerce Centre 484m (1,588 ft.), Two International Finance Centre 415m (1,361 ft.), Central Plaza 374m (1,226 ft.), Bank of China Tower 367m (1,203 ft.), The Center 346m (1,134 ft.).



Image: Flickr / Bernhard Sitzwohl