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:
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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