As of November 2026, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. It is in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. It is 828 meters tall. It has more than 160 floors. It took about six years to build. Work began in September 2004. It opened on 4 January 2010. It has more than 50 elevators.

The Burj Khalifa has three wings. They lean on each other and on a six-sided center. This shape is called a buttressed core. It keeps the tall tower stiff. The tower gets narrower as it rises, in a spiral of steps called setbacks. Engineers tested the setbacks in a wind tunnel to cut down the wind forces.

The title of tallest building has moved many times. The Empire State Building was the tallest for about forty years. That was from 1931 until the 1970s. The Sears Tower in Chicago became the tallest in 1974. It is now named the Willis Tower. It held the title until 1998.

The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004. They are twin towers. The Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. It took the title of tallest structure from the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower is repainted about every seven years. It takes tens of tons of paint. That is about 50 to 60 tons. The Great Pyramid of Giza has more than two million blocks of stone in it. For more than 3,000 years it was the tallest structure made by people.

A tall building, or skyscraper, has a strong frame, like a skeleton. Steel columns and beams hold up the weight. Wind pushes on it too. The taller the building, the more wind matters. That is why engineers tested the Burj Khalifa's shape in a wind tunnel.

Words to know

• skyscraper: tall building
• setbacks: narrowing steps
• buttressed: braced by wings
• tunnel: a long passage

The short version

As of November 2026, the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It is 828 meters (more than 2,700 feet) tall and has more than 160 floors. It took about six years to build, and it opened on 4 January 2010.

Quick facts

• The Burj Khalifa took about six years to build and opened on 4 January 2010.
• The Burj Khalifa has three wings that lean on each other, a shape called a buttressed core.
• The Willis Tower in Chicago (once called the Sears Tower) was the world's tallest building from 1974 to 1998.
• The Petronas Towers were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004.
• The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world from 1889 until 1930.