Following list of tallest buildings is based on the default metric of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban
Habitat (CTBUH), that of measuring to the highest architectural element. Other criteria would generate a different list. Shanghai World Financial Center is not on the above list, but it surpassed Taipei 101 in 2008 to become the building with the highest occupied floor. Using the criterion of highest tip (including antennae), the World Trade Center in New York City was the world's tallest building from 1972 to 2000, until the Sears Tower in Chicago (which already had a higher occupied floor than the World Trade Center) had its antenna extended to give that building the world's tallest tip; a title it held until the 2010 completion of Burj Khalifa. Petronas Towers and Taipei 101 were never the world's tallest buildings by the highest–tip criterion.
| Years tallest | Name | Location | Height | Increase | 1890–1894 | New York World Building | New York City | 94 m (308 ft) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894–1899 | Manhattan Life Insurance Building | 106 m (348 ft) | 13 % | ||||||
| 1899–1908 | Park Row Building | 119 m (390 ft) | 12 % | ||||||
| 1908–1909 | Singer Building | 186.57 m (612.1 ft) | 57 % | ||||||
| 1909–1913 | Metropolitan Life Tower | 213.36 m (700.0 ft) | 14.4 % | ||||||
| 1913–1930 | Woolworth Building | 241.4 m (792 ft) | 13.1 % | ||||||
| 1930 | 40 Wall Street | 283 m (928 ft) | 17.2 % | ||||||
| 1930–1931 | Chrysler Building | 318.8 m (1,046 ft) | 12.65 % | ||||||
| 1931–1971 | Empire State Building | 381 m (1,250 ft) | 19.5 % | ||||||
| 1971–1973 | 1 World Trade Center | 417 m (1,368 ft) | 9.45 % | ||||||
| 1973–1998 | Sears Tower | Chicago | 442 m (1,450 ft) | 6 % | |||||
| 1998–2004 | Petronas Towers | Kuala Lumpur | 451.9 m (1,483 ft) | 2.24 % | |||||
| 2004–2010 | Taipei 101 | Taipei | 509.2 m (1,671 ft) | 12.68 % | |||||
| 2010–present | Burj Khalifa | Dubai | 828 m (2,717 ft) | 62.61 % |