Cities with the Most High-Rise Buildings

Moscow's skyline is dominated with high-rise buildings.
Moscow's skyline is dominated with high-rise buildings.

A high-rise is a building that is at least 115 feet tall or has 12 or more floors. High-rise buildings include skyscrapers, and with new technology, the number of high-rise buildings is growing. Most tall buildings are built using either steel or reinforced concrete.

Cities with the Most High-Rise Buildings

Moscow - 11,783

Moscow is the capital of Russia and has a total of 11,783 high-rise buildings. The city is home to the three tallest buildings in Europe. The East tower of the Federation towers is the tallest building in the city and was the tallest building in Europe from December 2014 to October 2017. The tower stands at 1,227 feet tall and has 101 floors. OKO, South tower is the second tallest building in the city; the building was completed in 2015 and has a height of 1,161 feet with 85 floors. Mercury City Tower is the third tallest building standing at 1,112 feet tall. The building was completed in 2013 and has 75 stories.

Hong Kong - 7,833

Hong Kong is a special administrative region (SAR) of People’s Republic of China (PRC) located in East Asia. The city has a total of 7,833 high-rise buildings, 1,303 of these are skyscrapers and 316 of the buildings have a height of 492 feet tall. The International Commerce Centre (ICC) is the tallest building in the city at 1,588 feet and has 108 floors. The building is located in West Kowloon and ranks ninth tallest in the world. The Hong Kong International Finance center is the second tallest in the city and it has a height of 1,361 feet. The building was completed in 2003 and has 88 floors above ground level and six basement floors. The Central Plaza comes third reaching a height of 1,227 feet and 78 stories. The building is located in Wan Chai and was completed in 1992.

Seoul - 7,185

Seoul is South Korea's capital, and it has a total of 7,185 high-rise buildings. Despite having strict laws on high-rise buildings due to security reasons, Seoul is one of the cities with the highest number of high-rise buildings. The Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in Songpa district, Seoul, and the fifth tallest building in the world. The building was completed in 2017 and has a height of 1,821 feet with 123 floors. The second tallest building is the Three International Finance Centre Office Tower, Seoul. Completed in 2012 the tower is 932 feet tall and has 55 stories. The building is located in Yeongdeungpo district, Seoul, and it is the fifth tallest building in South Korea. The third tallest building is the tower G of the Samsung Tower Palace. The Samsung Palace consists of seven towers known by letters A-G. G tower is located in the Gangnam district and stands at 866 feet tall with 69 floors. The towers were constructed from 2002 to 2004 and are used for residential purposes.

The World’s Tallest Building

The Burj Khalifa standing at 2,717 feet with 163 stories having eight escalators and 57 elevators is the tallest high-rise building worldwide. Construction of the building started in 2004, and it was completed in 2009, and the building has retained the position of the world’s tallest building since then.

Cities with the Most High-Rise Buildings

RankCityNumber of Buildings Over 12 Stories
1Moscow11,783
2Hong Kong7,833
3Seoul7,185
4São Paulo6,332
5New York City6,250
6Singapore5,861
7Caracas3,864
8Busan3,493
9Incheon3,232
10Istanbul3,198
11Tokyo2,928
12Kuala Lumpur2,801
13Mumbai2,731
14Rio de Janeiro2,668
15St. Petersburg2,579
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