The five tallest buildings in each of the world’s ten largest cities — from Shanghai’s 632-metre giant to the towers rising over Dhaka.
The planet’s biggest cities are racing skyward. We ranked the ten largest urban areas on Earth by population, then gathered the five tallest completed buildings in each. Scroll on to climb through all fifty — with real photographs, heights and the stories behind them.
Tap a city on the map — or pick one below — to jump straight to its towers. The brighter the dot, the bigger the city.
TokyoAzabudai Hills Mori JP Tower325 m · No.01 largest
Delhi
DelhiCyberthum Tower A214 m · No.02 largest
Shanghai
ShanghaiShanghai Tower632 m · No.03 largest
Dhaka
DhakaShanta Pinnacle152 m · No.04 largest
São Paulo
São PauloPlatina 220172 m · No.05 largest
Cairo
Mexico CityTorre Mitikah267 m · No.07 largest
Beijing
BeijingChina Zun528 m · No.08 largest
Mumbai
MumbaiLokhandwala Minerva301 m · No.09 largest
Osaka
OsakaAbeno Harukas300 m · No.10 largest

Japan's tallest building — a vertical 'city within a city' of offices, homes and gardens.

Built directly atop a subway station, blending transit and skyline in one structure.

The anchor of Tokyo's Toranomon redevelopment, with a dramatic glass atrium base.

Centerpiece of Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi, mixing offices, a hotel and art museum.

Once Asia's tallest building, this Ikebukuro icon still defines the skyline.

Part of the twin towers that top the Delhi NCR skyline, in Noida's tech corridor.

The second of the matching Cyberthum twins, designed around a sky-bridge.
A luxury residential landmark rising in central Delhi near Karol Bagh.

One of two branded luxury residential towers in Gurugram's Golf Course Road.

The twin of Tower 1, part of the same high-end Gurugram development.

China's tallest building and 2nd tallest worldwide, with a twisting 120° spiral form.

Nicknamed 'the bottle opener' for the trapezoid void at its summit.

A pagoda-inspired supertall whose number 8 motif recurs throughout its design.

The crowning tower of the International Trade Centre in west Shanghai.

A faceted spire overlooking People's Square in the heart of the city.

Dhaka's tallest building, a sleek commercial tower in the Tejgaon district.

A landmark mixed-use tower in the Motijheel commercial heart of the city.

The central bank's headquarters — the city's tallest for decades.

A modern office tower in Dhaka's upscale Gulshan business district.

A commercial high-rise rising over central Dhaka.

São Paulo's tallest building, a residential landmark in the Tatuapé district.

A modernist giant downtown that reigned as the city's tallest for over 60 years.

A twin-crowned residential tower wrapped around a preserved 100-year-old fig tree.

A 1960s icon whose rooftop terrace offers the classic view over the city.

The former Banespa tower, an Empire State–inspired Art Deco landmark.
The tallest building in Africa, centerpiece of Egypt's New Administrative Capital.

One of the supertall office towers in the new capital's Central Business District.

A matching CBD tower in the cluster surrounding the Iconic Tower.

Part of the dense ring of skyscrapers anchoring Egypt's new government district.

Another of the New Administrative Capital's purpose-built CBD high-rises.

Mexico City's tallest building, the residential 'Sky Tower' in Coyoacán.

A striking triangular tower whose concrete walls are engineered for earthquakes.

A twin-crowned mixed-use tower beside Chapultepec Park on Paseo de la Reforma.

The bank's distinctive louvered headquarters on the Reforma boulevard.

Built to survive an 8.5 quake, it was Latin America's tallest for a decade.

Beijing's tallest building, shaped like an ancient ceremonial wine vessel.

The long-standing anchor of Beijing's CBD before China Zun overtook it.

An expansion tower extending the CWTC complex in the central business district.

A sleek office tower in Beijing's CBD financial cluster.

A tapered supertall anchoring the Dawangjing business district.

Mumbai's tallest completed tower, a slender residential spire in Mahalaxmi.

A garden-themed luxury residential tower overlooking the Byculla botanical gardens.

The tallest of the World Towers trio in the Lower Parel mill district.

A companion tower in the same Lower Parel World Towers complex.

One tower of the landscaped Lodha Park residential cluster in Worli.

Japan's tallest building when completed — a department store, hotel and observatory in one.

A bay-side government tower, also known as the Cosmo Tower, with a sky observatory.

Osaka's tallest residential tower, rising beside the Nakanoshima riverfront.

A landmark hotel-and-office tower (formerly ORC 200) in the bay district.

A tall residential tower overlooking Osaka Bay near the Minato area.
The single tallest building in each city, side by side (metres).