With 126 buildings 200 meters tall (660 feet) or higher constructed across the globe, 2019 was another impressive year for skyscraper construction. According to The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, last year's total represents a 13.7 percent decline on 2018, although 26 supertall buildings 300 meters or taller were built in 2019, the most in any year. As in previous years, China is at the forefront of the boom in skyscraper construction, building 56 in total last year.
The Tianjin CTF Finance Centre was the tallest building completed anywhere in the world last year. At 530 meters tall, it's now the joint third-tallest building in China together with its sister tower, the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre. The second-tallest skyscraper of 2019 was the 462-meter-tall Lakhta Center (also known as the Gazprom Tower) in St. Petersburg, Russia while the third-tallest was once again in China, the Suzhou IFS which stands at 456 meters.
After China, the U.S. comes a distant second in the 2019 skyscraper league with 14 completions while the UAE comes third with nine. Due to China's skyward ambitions, Asia is the global hub of skyscraper construction, accounting for 69 percent of all completions. The city of Shenzhen in China alone constructed 15 skyscrapers, more than the entire U.S. total.
