We are not the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, its successor Council on Vertical Urbanism, or any other official body. We are an independent editorial site that ranks buildings by where the elevator stops.Read the full disclosure.
Country Guide · Honest Height Rankings
In Honest 100
15
Rank pending
0
Tallest (honest)
585.4m
Best ratio
1.7%
The United Arab Emirates has 16 buildings in the Honest 100 - second only to China. Almost all are in Dubai. The median Vanity Ratio for confirmed UAE buildings is approximately 18%, significantly above the global median. The range spans from Marina 101 at 12.7% to the Emirates Office Tower at 32.3%, with the Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building - scoring 29.3% on a 828-metre frame that is occupied only to 585 metres. Dubai is also home to four of the world's highest observation decks.
Buildings ranked by Honest Height - the elevation of the highest occupied floor, not architectural top. The gap is the Vanity Ratio. See the full methodology.
Buildings in United Arab Emirates, drawn to scale
Each silhouette drawn to scale. Silver = the height humans actually reach. Amber = the decorative steel above it.
#1
Burj Khalifa
Dubai
585.4m
29.3% vanity
#2
Elite Residence
Dubai
374m
1.7% vanity
#3
Marina 101
Dubai
371m
12.7% vanity
#4
Burj Mohammed bin Rashid
Abu Dhabi
367m
3.7% vanity
#5
Princess Tower
Dubai
356.9m
13.6% vanity
#6
Il Primo Tower
Dubai
348m
2.1% vanity
#7
City Tower 1
Dubai
344m
3.9% vanity
#8
23 Marina
Dubai
313.5m
20.2% vanity
#9
Marina Torch
Dubai
300.1m
14.7% vanity
#10
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Tower 1
Dubai
298.1m
16.1% vanity
#11
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Tower 2
Dubai
298.1m
16.1% vanity
#12
Almas Tower
Dubai
279.3m
22.4% vanity
#13
Gevora Hotel
Dubai
276.3m
22.4% vanity
#14
Kempinski The Boulevard Dubai
Dubai
275m
25.7% vanity
#15
Emirates Office Tower
Dubai
240.4m
32.3% vanity
Top 5 in United Arab Emirates · Confirmed occupied height
Ranks 6-15 in United Arab Emirates
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Tower 1
Dubai · AE
298.1m
16.1% vanity
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Tower 2
Dubai · AE
298.1m
16.1% vanity
Almas Tower
Dubai · AE
279.3m
22.4% vanity
Gevora Hotel
Dubai · AE
276.3m
22.4% vanity
Emirates Office Tower
Dubai · AE
240.4m
32.3% vanity
Burj Mohammed bin Rashid
Abu Dhabi · AE
367m
3.7% vanity
Elite Residence
Dubai · AE
374m
1.7% vanity
Kempinski The Boulevard Dubai
Dubai · AE
275m
25.7% vanity
City Tower 1
Dubai · AE
344m
3.9% vanity
Il Primo Tower
Dubai · AE
348m
2.1% vanity
The UAE chose height as a policy instrument, and the buildings reflect that. When you build a city from scratch in a desert, you have fewer constraints on what the top of a building needs to do. The spires here are not antennas (mostly) - they are design choices. At 29.3%, the Burj Khalifa's vanity gap is 242.6 metres of steel nobody lives in. That is taller than most buildings on Earth. That is the architectural choice that defined a decade of supertall design globally.