City Guide · Honest Height Rankings · United Arab Emirates (country median vanity: 16.1%)
In Honest 100
14
Rank pending
0
Tallest (honest)
585.4m
Best ratio
1.7%
Dubai has the most buildings in the Honest 100 of any single city - ten confirmed entries. The range of Vanity Ratios tells the story of two different eras of Emirati construction: the Burj Khalifa scores 29.3% (243 metres of unoccupied spire above 585 metres of offices and hotel), while the JW Marriott Marquis towers score 16.1%. The city is also home to the highest observation deck in the database: At the Top SKY at 555 metres on the Burj Khalifa, though the observation deck is below the architectural top by 273 metres.
Buildings ranked by Honest Height - the elevation of the highest occupied floor. Not architectural top. Not spires. Not decorative steel nobody rides an elevator to. The gap between the two is the Vanity Ratio. See the full methodology.
Buildings in Dubai, drawn to scale
Each silhouette drawn to scale. Silver = the height humans actually reach. Amber = the decorative steel above it.
29.3%
vanity ratio · +243m
585m
honest
828m
“official”
#1
honest
#1
“official”
Burj Khalifa
Dubai
1.7%
vanity ratio · +7m
374m
honest
381m
“official”
#40
honest
#60
“official”
Elite Residence
Dubai
12.7%
vanity ratio · +54m
371m
honest
425m
“official”
#45
honest
#33
“official”
Marina 101
Dubai
13.6%
vanity ratio · +57m
357m
honest
413m
“official”
#53
honest
#39
“official”
Princess Tower
Dubai
3.0%
vanity ratio · +11m
345m
honest
356m
“official”
#63
honest
#84
“official”
Il Primo Tower
Dubai
3.9%
vanity ratio · +14m
344m
honest
358m
“official”
#65
honest
#80
“official”
City Tower 1
Dubai
20.2%
vanity ratio · +79m
314m
honest
393m
“official”
#80
honest
#47
“official”
23 Marina
Dubai
14.7%
vanity ratio · +52m
300m
honest
352m
“official”
#84
honest
#91
“official”
Marina Torch
Dubai
16.1%
vanity ratio · +57m
298m
honest
355m
“official”
#86
honest
#85
“official”
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Tower 1
Dubai
16.1%
vanity ratio · +57m
298m
honest
355m
“official”
#87
honest
#86
“official”
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Tower 2
Dubai
22.4%
vanity ratio · +81m
279m
honest
360m
“official”
#95
honest
#75
“official”
Almas Tower
Dubai
22.4%
vanity ratio · +80m
276m
honest
356m
“official”
#97
honest
#81
“official”
Gevora Hotel
Dubai
25.7%
vanity ratio · +95m
275m
honest
370m
“official”
#98
honest
#68
“official”
Kempinski The Boulevard Dubai
Dubai
32.3%
vanity ratio · +115m
240m
honest
355m
“official”
#102
honest
#87
“official”
Emirates Office Tower
Dubai
Top 5 in Dubai · Confirmed occupied height
Ranks 6-14 in Dubai
City Tower 1
Dubai · AE
344m
3.9% vanity
23 Marina
Dubai · AE
313.5m
20.2% vanity
Marina Torch
Dubai · AE
300.1m
14.7% vanity
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
Kempinski The Boulevard Dubai
Dubai · AE
275m
25.7% vanity
Emirates Office Tower
Dubai · AE
240.4m
32.3% vanity
The standard global ranking uses architectural top - the highest structural element regardless of whether anyone reaches it. The Honest Height ranking uses the highest occupied floor. For Dubai, the delta between the two metrics is tracked as the Vanity Ratio for each building.
Tallest by honest height: Burj Khalifa - 585.4m occupied
Tallest by architectural top: Burj Khalifa - 828m
See: The full Honest 100 · Methodology
Dubai has ten buildings in the Honest 100. No other single city comes close. The Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest building by architectural top and also ranks first on the Honest 100 by occupied floor. Dubai did not need to cheat to win. It just also chose to - at 828 metres versus 585 metres occupied. You can hold both things simultaneously.