The 10 Biggest Shopping Malls In The World

For some shoppers a mall is simply a place to pick up what they need. For others it is a destination for shopping plus eating plus social time with friends and family. Over the past few decades the humble retail market has given way to enormous structures that hold cinemas alongside supermarkets, department stores, hotels, and even amusement parks. Floors measured in millions of square feet now define mall culture in countries where bigger has been treated as better. The ten malls ahead are ranked by Gross Leasable Area (GLA) as a relatively fair measure of how much actual retail and entertainment space each one contains.

1. Iran Mall, Iran - 21,000,000 sq. ft
2. IOI City Mall, Malaysia - 8,840,000 sq. ft
3. South China Mall, China - 7,100,000 sq. ft
4. Isfahan City Center, Iran - 7,000,000 sq. ft
5. SM Mall of Asia, Philippines - 6,349,530 sq. ft
6. SM Tianjin, China - 6,080,000 sq. ft
7. Golden Resources Mall, China - 6,000,010 sq. ft
8. CentralPlaza WestGate, Thailand - 5,923,140 sq. ft
9. CentralWorld, Thailand - 5,900,000 sq. ft
10. ICONSIAM, Thailand - 5,650,000 sq. ft

Iran Mall, Iran - 21,000,000 Sq. Ft

The largest mall in the world by total reported area is the Iran Mall in northwest Tehran, Iran, at around 21 million square feet (about 1.95 million square meters). It is one of the largest combined commercial, cultural, and social hubs anywhere, with retail outlets, cultural facilities, recreational areas, a five-star hotel, exhibition halls, a library modeled on Iranian medieval scriptoria, and large parking facilities for over 15,000 vehicles. The mall holds about 708 retail stores spread across seven floors. Its traditional bazaar takes design cues from the historic markets of Iranian cities like Shiraz, Isfahan, and Tabriz. The second phase of the development, completed in 2024, added around 350,000 square meters of exhibition space and a solar-powered roof canopy. Iran Mall opened in stages between 2017 and 2020.

IOI City Mall, Malaysia - 8,840,000 Sq. Ft

IOI City Mall in Malaysia's Putrajaya area is the second-largest shopping mall in the world, with over 650 stores spread across 8.84 million square feet. The mall holds the usual department stores, restaurants, and cafes plus District 21 (a post-apocalyptic-themed indoor adventure park), Icescape Ice Rink (Malaysia's largest Olympic-standard ice rink), and Komtag (an indoor playground). The Phase 2 expansion that opened in late 2022 doubled the mall's size and added the country's first Lotte Department Store outside of South Korea. Multiple luxury brand stores have made the mall a major draw across Southeast Asia.

South China Mall, China - 7,100,000 Sq. Ft

The third-largest mall in the world is South China Mall in Dongguan, China, spanning 7.1 million square feet. The shopping center is laid out around seven themed zones modeled on world cities, including a replica of the Arc de Triomphe and an indoor canal with gondolas. Despite its scale and amenities, the mall struggled to attract shoppers for years after opening in 2005, with five of its seven sections sitting underoccupied for much of the 2000s and 2010s. The persistent vacancy earned it the nickname "Ghost Mall." A major renovation in the late 2010s and early 2020s brought in new tenants and entertainment options including an indoor karting track and IMAX theater. Occupancy rebounded to around 98 percent by the mid-2020s.

Isfahan City Center, Iran - 7,000,000 Sq. Ft

Isfahan City Center is the fourth-largest mall in the world. It opened in 2012 with more than 7 million square feet of Gross Leasable Area on the eastern edge of the historic Iranian city of Isfahan. The complex includes a museum, an indoor theme park with roller coasters and bumper cars, an entertainment center, a hypermarket, restaurants, a World Trade Center, and an International Financial Center. Over 750 retail outlets and a five-star Kowsar hotel round out the offering. The complex's interior takes architectural cues from traditional Isfahani design, with light-filled courtyards modeled on the public spaces of the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Naqsh-e Jahan Square.

SM Mall Of Asia, Philippines - 6,349,530 Sq. Ft

Built on reclaimed land along the Philippines' Manila Bay, the SM Mall of Asia is the fifth-largest in the world at 6.35 million square feet of Gross Leasable Area, with roughly 200,000 daily visitors. The mall opened in 2006 and its features include an IMAX theater, an Olympic-sized ice skating rink, the 20,000-seat Mall of Asia Arena, the Galeón museum with a collection of artifacts and ship models from the Spanish colonial period, and waterfront promenades that face directly onto Manila Bay. The complex is the flagship property of the SM Prime Holdings group, the largest mall operator in the Philippines.

SM Tianjin, China - 6,080,000 Sq. Ft

SM City Tianjin is another Chinese entry, with just over 6 million leasable square feet across the complex. The mall opened in 2016 in the Tianjin Airport Economic Area, about 30 kilometers east of central Tianjin. The complex is laid out across five separate buildings, each named after one of the five traditional Chinese elements (earth, fire, water, metal, and wood), connected by sky bridges and ground-level walkways. The SM Prime group developed the mall on the same model as its Philippine properties.

Golden Resources Mall, China - 6,000,010 Sq. Ft

The Golden Resources Mall in Beijing's Haidian District holds about 6 million square feet of space across six floors, putting it at seventh in the global ranking. The mall opened in October 2004 at a reported construction cost of around $1.3 billion. A 206-foot-tall entrance gate anchors the main facade. Two Beijing Metro lines built near the mall after its opening (Lines 6 and 16) increased visitor flow significantly, and the property now records millions of guests each year. Despite its scale, the mall has historically run quieter than central-Beijing competitors like SKP Beijing.

CentralPlaza WestGate, Thailand - 5,923,140 Sq. Ft

One of the biggest malls in Thailand is CentralPlaza WestGate in Nonthaburi Province, in the suburbs of Bangkok. The complex spans more than 5.9 million square feet across multiple levels. It carries the regional Super Regional Mall designation, with more than 500 Thai and international brands plus over 200 restaurants on site. The mall houses the largest IKEA in Southeast Asia, which takes up roughly 10 percent of the total mall area. CentralPlaza WestGate opened in August 2015 and serves the Greater Bangkok metropolitan area along the MRT Purple Line.

CentralWorld, Thailand - 5,900,000 Sq. Ft

Almost matching CentralPlaza WestGate is CentralWorld in central Bangkok at the corner of Ratchadamri Road and Rama I Road. The complex holds 500 stores, 100 restaurants and cafes, and 15 cinema screens. It also runs a children's zone, a learning center, two anchor department stores (Zen and Isetan replaced by Central in 2020), and an indoor ice skating rink. The plaza in front of the mall hosts one of the largest annual New Year's Eve countdown events in Southeast Asia. The mall opened in 1990 as the World Trade Center Bangkok before reopening under its current name and form in 2006.

ICONSIAM, Thailand - 5,650,000 Sq. Ft

The third Bangkok entry on this list is ICONSIAM, a riverside mixed-use development on the Thonburi west bank of the Chao Phraya River that opened in November 2018. The complex was built at a reported cost of around 54 billion baht (about $1.7 billion). Alongside the usual retail floors, ICONSIAM runs SookSiam, an indoor floating market where shoppers can buy food from boat-style vendor stalls representing all 77 provinces of Thailand. The complex spans more than 5.6 million square feet across seven floors. ICONSIAM houses Thailand's first Apple Store along with the largest indoor Christmas tree in Southeast Asia each December.

Why The Biggest Malls Cluster In Asia

Shoppers find most of the largest malls in Asia for several reasons. Mall culture is treated as serious commercial business across much of the continent, employing thousands of local residents at each major property. In several Southeast Asian countries the air-conditioned indoor space offers a real break from the heat and humidity outside, which keeps daily foot traffic high. The Avenues Mall in Kuwait City, while not in the top 10 by strict GLA measurement, holds an estimated 13 million square feet of total built area and is often cited as one of the largest Middle Eastern complexes. Whether the visit is for shopping or window shopping, the retail giants on this list will keep guests browsing for hours.

The 20 Biggest Shopping Malls In The World