Merdeka 118 in the context of List of tallest towers in the world

3°9′28″N 101°42′42″E / 3.15778°N 101.71167°E / 3.15778; 101.71167

The Petronas Towers (Malay: Menara Berkembar Petronas), also known as the Petronas Twin Towers and colloquially the KLCC Twin Towers, are an interlinked pair of 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at 451.9 m (1,483 ft). From 1996 to 2004, they were the tallest buildings in the world until they were surpassed by the Taipei 101 building. The Petronas Towers remain the world's tallest twin skyscrapers, surpassing the original World Trade Center towers in New York City, and were the tallest buildings in Malaysia until 2021, when they were surpassed by Merdeka 118. The Petronas Towers are a major landmark of Kuala Lumpur, along with the nearby Kuala Lumpur Tower and Merdeka 118, and are visible in many places across the city.

Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリー, Tōkyō Sukaitsurī; [toːkʲoː sɯ̥kaitsɯriː] ), also written as Tokyo Sky Tree, is a broadcasting and observation tower, located in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It has been the tallest tower in Japan since opening in 2012, and reached its full height of 634 m (2,080 ft) in early 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world, displacing the Canton Tower, and the third tallest structure in the world behind Merdeka 118 (678.9 m or 2,227 ft) and Burj Khalifa (829.8 m or 2,722 ft).

The tower is the primary television and radio broadcast site for the Kantō region; the older Tokyo Tower no longer gives complete digital terrestrial television broadcasting coverage because it is surrounded by high-rise buildings. Skytree was completed on Leap Day, 29 February 2012, with the tower opening to the public on 22 May 2012. The tower is the centerpiece of a large commercial development funded by Tobu Railway (which owns the complex) and a group of six terrestrial broadcasters headed by NHK. Trains stop at the adjacent Tokyo Skytree Station and nearby Oshiage Station. The complex is 7 km (4.3 mi) northeast of Tokyo Station. Sumida Aquarium is in the Tokyo Solamachi complex.

The Shanghai Tower is a 128-story, 632-meter-tall (2,073 ft) megatall skyscraper located in Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai. It is currently the tallest building in China and the world's third-tallest building by height to architectural top. It was the tallest and largest LEED-CS Platinum certified building in the world since 2015 to 2024. It was also the second tallest-building in the world, from 2015 to 2021, until the completion of Merdeka 118. The Shanghai Tower also had the world's fastest elevators at a top speed of 20.5 meters per second (74 km/h; 46 mph) until 2017, when it was surpassed by the Guangzhou CTF Finance Center, with its top speed of 21 meters per second (76 km/h; 47 mph).

Designed by the international design firm Gensler and owned by the Shanghai Municipal Government, it is the tallest of the world's first triple-adjacent supertall buildings in Pudong, the other two being the Jin Mao Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center. Its tiered construction, designed for high energy efficiency, provides nine separate zones divided between office, retail and leisure use. The US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat cites it as "one of the most sustainably advanced tall buildings in the world."

Malaysia is home to one of the largest congregations of skyscrapers in the world. The country ranks fourth in the global list compiled by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), with 518 recorded structures built exceeding the height of 150 metres (492 ft). The country's first skyscraper was built in Kuala Lumpur in 1978, and since then the city has one of the tallest skylines in the world. Besides Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding metropolitan area, most Malaysian skyscrapers are built either in George Town or Johor Bahru. Since 2023, Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur has been the tallest skyscraper in Malaysia. Built with an architectural height of 678.9 metres (2,227 ft), it contains the tallest observatory installed in a spire and is currently the world's second tallest building or man-made structure.

Malaysia's history with skyscrapers originated from construction booms in Kuala Lumpur between the 1970s and 1980s, where architectural height records were constantly broken and surpassed. In 1971, the 28-storey Sime Bank Building (currently Takaful Building) was the first building to exceed 100 metres (328 ft). In 1978, the Bank Muamalat Building became the first skyscraper in the country under the definitions of the CTBUH. In 1985, the 65-storey Komtar in George Town became the first skyscraper to exceed 200 metres (656 ft) in height. The Petronas Towers, a pair of 88-storey supertall skyscrapers located in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, were the tallest skyscrapers in the world from 1998 to 2004, and remains the tallest twin skyscrapers in the world as of 2023.

The tallest structure in the world is the Burj Khalifa, a skyscraper at 828 m (2,717 ft). Listed are guyed masts (such as telecommunication masts), self-supporting towers (such as the CN Tower), skyscrapers (such as the Willis Tower), oil platforms, electricity transmission towers, and bridge support towers. This list is organized by absolute height. See History of the world's tallest structures, Tallest structures by category, and List of tallest buildings for additional information about these types of structures.