While the population is going up the same can be said about the buildings - they are going up as well. Or maybe it is the other way around, the more money certain countries acquire, the more super tall buildings they will construct. After all they are mostly used for offices and businesses. The super tall skyscrapers are still a great tourist destination, offering an excellent view across major cities, a must see for visitors of said cities. This list follows their concentration by continents in the order Asia, North America(USA), Europe, Australia.
Burj Khalifa
Asia is the home of super tall skyscrapers, particularly the Middle East(must be the oil) and China, and the tallest of them all is Burj Khalifa. This Dubai wonder is 829 meters tall and is the tallest man made structure in the world(which can change in the future, there are 1000m buildings in the planning/making). It holds a whole bunch of records, including the highest freestanding structure, the building with the most floors(163), highest elevator, highest occupied floor(at almost 600 meters above the ground), highest observation deck, highest nightclub and highest restaurant. It has its own office spaces, residential area and hotel. It is everything in one, a true jewel of the Middle East.
Makkah Clock Royal Tower Hotel
The fourth highest freestanding building in the world is part of the Abraj Al Bait towers in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is a government project, designed to make the life of the faithful easier, Mecca being a holy Muslim city and all. The hotel itself is impressive, clocking in on 76 floors, 1542 guest rooms and 10 restaurants. The clock on its top is the largest clock face in the world. This skyscraper is 601 meters tall, towering above the rest of the surrounding buildings of the complex, which are around 250 meters tall. It was planned to be 734 meters, taller than the Shanghai Tower, but eventually they settled with less.
Shanghai Tower
The beast itself, The Shanghai Tower is not finished yet(it will be in the middle of 2015) but it is so far the tallest building in China(for only an year perhaps, an even taller building is in the making and will be finished in 2016). The design of this skyscraper is very interesting, consisting of nine cylinders put on top of each other, built with energy efficiency in mind. It kind of looks like a spiraling snake. Its 128 floors contain offices and hotels, as well as viewing platforms for observing the whole crazy city of Shanghai.
One World Trade Center
One to rule them all, this skyscraper is the tallest one in the Western hemisphere as well as the fourth tallest in the whole world. It stands 541 meters above the ground in New York, USA. As the name implies, it is the descendent of the old twin tower trade center, that got destroyed by a terrorist attack in 2001. It is a symbolical building in more ways than one, 541 meters = 1776 feet(the year USA got its independence). Its contents are mostly business as usual - offices similar to the old trade center, but a memorial museum for the 2001 attacks is in the planning .
Petronas Towers
Talking about twin towers, the Petronas Towers are the tallest twin skyscrapers in the world still left standing. They are located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and with their 451 meters height they were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998(their construction) to 2004. Their combined height is still over 900 meters though, so far unmatched. The two towers are home of 88 floors of office spaces, predominately occupied by the Petronas company itself. A sky bridge 170 meters above the ground is connecting the twins.
International Commerce Center
The Hong Kong International Commerce Center is a beautiful skyscraper, overlooking the sea and sparkling in the light of the rising sun. It is the eight tallest building in the world(484 meters) as well as the fourth when it comes to floors(108). Completed in 2010 it could have been much taller if it wasn't for a law, which prohibited buildings to exceed the height of the surrounding mountains. The skyscraper is littered with mostly offices, except for the last 16 floors, which contain a five star hotel.
Empire State Building
When you hear tall skyscrapers this one comes to mind immediately. The famous structure was built in 1931 and for forty years has been topping the charts when it comes to tallest buildings on Earth. Nowadays it is on 25th place in the tallest completed skyscrapers chart and the 4th tallest in the USA, but it is still very much functioning and in a great condition. Empire State Building is an American cultural icon, a place you really have to visit if you are going to the USA. Its parameters are: 381metres tall, 102 floors, steel construction, mostly offices and businesses.
Al Hamra Tower
Being "only" 412 meters tall this number one Kuwait skyscraper can't hold a candle to the behemoths in the region(4th tallest finished skyscraper in the Middle East, 16th in the world). What makes this one so unique though is its form. It is very asymmetrical, the whole thing looks like a folded paper. Or even the traditional robes, worn by the Kuwait residents, if you have more imagination. The whole thing was completed in 2011 and its unique design won it many awards even before everything was finished. Mostly offices are found inside, as well as a shopping mall.
Mercury City Tower
The only European entry on this list is in Moscow, Russia. In 2013 the 75 floor skyscraper reached a height of 338 meters, 32 more than The Shard in London, the previous record holder. It is a beautiful building, three steps mark its ascend to the skies, and its windows have a very intense orange copper tint to them. Mercury City Tower is claimed to be environmentally friendly and using less electricity/water by design. It has a mixed purpose, containing both residential and office areas.
Q1 Tower
The tallest skyscraper and second tallest building in the Southern hemisphere is the 322 meters Q1(Queensland Number One) Tower in Australia. It is purely residential and the sixth tallest building of its kind. Q1 was constructed in 2005 and held the title of the highest residential skyscraper for six years before The Marina Torch in Dubai took it away. 78 floors support 527 apartments in the highly visited Surfer's Paradise. Unfortunately since 2009 the building has been in poor condition, so maybe it is not the best place to spend your vacation.
