Six of the twenty: Dubai is building a third of the world’s tallest towers

An industry skyscraper database gives the following picture as of mid-2026: six of the twenty tallest construction sites on the planet are in Dubai. And the regional UAE list is occupied in all ten positions by projects in one city.

The range of projects

Heights in the list run from 341 metres to 725. The top position is held by Burj Azizi: 725 metres with a 2028 completion date, after which the tower will be second in height only to Burj Khalifa — and to nothing else in the world.

A notable feature of the current wave is branded partnerships. The list includes projects delivered jointly with houses and marques from watchmaking, automotive and jewellery, and with international development brands.

What height means for a buyer

Less than it seems. Record height is a marketing asset for a building, not a guarantee of return on an apartment in it. The practical consequences of extreme height are rather more prosaic:

• Service charge. A supertall building costs more to run: lifts, facades, services, fire systems. That is an annual line in the owner's costs.
• Construction period. A 700-metre tower takes longer and is more likely to slip than a 30-storey building.
• Price spread inside the building. In a supertall the difference between lower and upper levels is a multiple, and "bought in a famous tower" says nothing about the quality of a specific unit.
• Liquidity. A recognisable address genuinely helps at resale — the one point where height works directly for the owner.

What it says about the market as a whole

A concentration of world records in one city is an indicator of access to capital and to engineering competence. But it is equally a reminder of cyclicality: waves of skyscrapers historically coincide with the peaks of cycles, and buildings like these complete in a different phase of the market.