It has 163 floors, sits in Downtown Dubai, UAE, and has held the title of the world’s tallest building since it opened on 4 January 2010.
Its absolute tip including the communications needle reaches 829.8 metres (2,722 ft).
Numbers alone do not tell the full story. The Burj Khalifa is more than twice the height of the Empire State Building and nearly three times the height of the Eiffel Tower. It rises so far above Dubai’s skyline that on a clear day you can see it from 95 kilometres away.
This guide breaks down every height figure you need, explains exactly what happens on every major floor, and shows you how the Burj Khalifa stacks up against every other tall building on the planet.
If you want the height in meters, feet, kilometres, or millimetres or you are planning a visit and want to know which floor gets you the best view you will find every answer below.
Burj Khalifa Height – The Exact Numbers at a Glance
People measure the Burj Khalifa in different units depending on where they are from, and different sources quote slightly different figures depending on which measuring standard they use. Here is every number in one place.
| Measurement | Value | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural height (official) | 828 m | 2,717 ft |
| Height to absolute tip | 829.8 m | 2,722 ft |
| Height in kilometres | 0.828 km | Just over half a mile |
| Height in miles | ~0.514 miles | About 0.51 mi |
| Height in millimetres | 828,000 mm | 828,000 mm |
| Height without spire | 585 m | 1,919 ft |
| Number of floors | 163 | Plus 2 basement levels |
Burj Khalifa Height in Metres – 828 m
The official architectural height is 828 metres. This is the figure the CTBUH uses to rank the Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building. It measures from the lowest open-air pedestrian entrance at ground level to the top of the architectural spire, but it excludes any communications antenna above that.
Burj Khalifa Height in Feet – 2,717 ft
Convert 828 metres to feet and you get 2,717 feet. Some sources quote 2,716.5 ft or 2,722 ft the small variation comes from whether you measure to the spire tip or to the very tip of the communications needle at 829.8 m. The standard recognised figure is 2,717 ft.
Burj Khalifa Height in KM – 0.828 km
In kilometres, the Burj Khalifa measures 0.828 km. That puts it at just over 82% of a full kilometre. For context, walking 828 metres on a flat road takes the average person about 10 minutes.
Burj Khalifa Height in Miles – 0.514 miles
In miles, the Burj Khalifa stands roughly 0.514 miles tall just over half a mile. This is why guides often describe it as ‘just over half a mile into the sky’.
Burj Khalifa Height in MM – 828,000 mm
For engineers and precision measurements, the architectural height is 828,000 millimetres. This unit is rarely used in tourism but appears in structural drawings and technical specifications.
Why Do Different Sources Quote Different Heights?
You will see three slightly different numbers depending on the source: 828 m (architectural top, spire included), 829.8 m (absolute tip, including the small communications needle), and 585 m (height to the highest occupied floor, excluding the spire).
The CTBUH and Guinness World Records both use 828 m as the official standard for ranking purposes.
How Many Floors Does the Burj Khalifa Have?
The Burj Khalifa has 163 floors above ground and 2 basement levels below. This makes it the building with the most floors of any skyscraper ever built. Not every floor is publicly accessible the tower serves multiple purposes, and different sections operate as a hotel, residential apartments, offices, restaurants, and observation decks.
You can explore all the highlights of each section in our full guide to Burj Khalifa: The World’s Tallest Building.
How Are the 163 Floors Used?
- Floors 1–39: Armani Hotel Dubai and Armani Residences
- Floors 39–108: Private luxury residential apartments
- Floors 109–154: Corporate offices and business suites
- Floor 122: At.mosphere Restaurant (442 m / 1,450 ft) world’s highest restaurant
- Floors 124–125: At The Top observation deck (452–456 m / 1,483–1,496 ft)
- Floor 148: At The Top SKY (555 m / 1,821 ft) world’s highest outdoor observation deck
- Floors 152–154: The Lounge Burj Khalifa world’s highest lounge
- Floors 155–163: Mechanical and communications equipment
What Is on the 125th Floor of the Burj Khalifa?
The 125th floor sits at approximately 456 metres (1,496 ft) above ground and forms the upper level of the At The Top observation deck. Visitors standing on floor 125 look out over the full Dubai skyline, the Arabian Desert, and on a clear day, the coastline stretching toward Abu Dhabi.
The 124th and 125th floors together make up the main At The Top experience, which includes both indoor viewing galleries and an outdoor terrace.
Note that the floors above level 154 are all mechanical levels. The building technically has a further 46 non-habitable structural levels that form the base of the spire, bringing the technical total closer to 209 levels, but 163 is the official and commonly used floor count.
The Spire – How Much of the Height Is Architectural?
The spire is one of the most talked-about elements of the Burj Khalifa’s height. Here is exactly what it is and why it matters.
Spire Height: 244 Metres
The Burj Khalifa’s spire measures 244 metres (801 ft) and accounts for 29% of the building’s total official height. The central pinnacle pipe the core steel structure of the spire weighs 350 tonnes and stands 200 metres (660 ft) tall.
Engineers assembled the spire in sections inside the building during construction, then hydraulically jacked it up into its final position a method last used at the Chrysler Building in 1929, but at a far larger scale.
Without the Spire, How Tall Is the Burj Khalifa?
Strip away the spire and the Burj Khalifa stands 585 metres (1,919 ft) to its highest habitable floor. That figure is still taller than any other building in Europe or the Americas. Even without the spire, the Burj Khalifa beats every other skyscraper’s usable height it exceeds Shanghai Tower’s highest occupied floor by just 2 metres on that basis alone.
Is the Spire ‘Vanity Height’?
The CTBUH defines vanity height as the empty section of a building above its highest usable floor. The Burj Khalifa’s 244-metre spire qualifies under that definition because very little of its space serves an occupied function. In a widely quoted CTBUH study, researchers noted that the spire alone ‘could be a skyscraper on its own’ and if placed in Europe as a standalone building, it would rank as the 11th tallest structure on the continent.
However, the spire counts fully toward the official architectural height under CTBUH rules because it is a permanent architectural element not a functional antenna or flagpole. So while it is technically vanity height, it is also legitimately part of the building’s measured height.
Burj Khalifa vs. Other Skyscrapers – How Does It Compare?
The Burj Khalifa does not just top the rankings it dominates them by a wide margin. Its nearest rival sits 149 metres shorter. Here is how it compares to the tallest buildings and most famous landmarks in the world.
| Building | Height (m) | Height (ft) | Floors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE | 828 | 2,717 | 163 |
| 🥈 Merdeka 118, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 679 | 2,227 | 118 |
| 🥉 Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China | 632 | 2,073 | 128 |
| One World Trade Center, New York, USA | 541 | 1,776 | 104 |
| For comparison | |||
| Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan | 508 | 1,667 | 101 |
| Empire State Building, New York, USA | 443 | 1,454 | 102 |
| Eiffel Tower, Paris, France | 330 | 1,083 | N/A |
Is the Burj Khalifa Still the Tallest Building in the World in 2026?
Yes. As of March 2026, the Burj Khalifa remains the world’s tallest building by all three CTBUH criteria: height to architectural top, height to tip, and highest occupied floor. It has held this record since it topped out in January 2009 and officially opened in January 2010.
The Next Challenger: Jeddah Tower
The Burj Khalifa’s record will eventually fall to the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, which is designed to exceed 1,000 metres making it the world’s first kilometre-high building. The same architect who designed the Burj Khalifa, Adrian Smith, designed the Jeddah Tower.
Construction has faced delays, but current projections point to a completion date around 2028 or later. When it opens, the Jeddah Tower will stand approximately 170 metres taller than the Burj Khalifa.
Burj Khalifa Architecture – Why It Can Stand So Tall
Building something this tall requires more than ambition. The Burj Khalifa’s design solves one of engineering’s hardest problems: how to keep a half-kilometre structure standing against wind, heat, and gravity.
Y-Shaped Floor Plan and 27 Setback Tiers
Architect Adrian Smith and structural engineer Bill Baker at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the Burj Khalifa with a Y-shaped floor plan. As the building rises, each of the three ‘wings’ steps back from the central core at 27 different points creating a spiralling, tapering profile.
This shape constantly changes the building’s cross-section as the wind hits it. Baker calls the effect ‘confusing the wind’, because the building never presents the same face for the wind to push against. This dramatically reduces the swaying forces that make tall buildings uncomfortable or structurally dangerous.
Foundation: Built on Sand, Anchored in Rock
Dubai is desert and building the world’s tallest structure on sandy ground required extraordinary foundations. A reinforced concrete mat nearly 4 metres (13 ft) thick sits at the base of the building.
Below it, more than 192 concrete piles each 1.5 metres (5 ft) in diameter and up to 50 metres long drive deep into the ground. Together they distribute the building’s 500,000-tonne weight safely into the bedrock.
Glass Façade: 26,000 Hand-Cut Panels
The exterior of the Burj Khalifa uses more than 26,000 hand-cut glass panels, along with aluminium and stainless-steel cladding.
The glass is specially designed to reflect Dubai’s intense sunlight while still allowing views outward. The full cladding covers an area equivalent to 17 football pitches.
Cleaning the entire exterior from top to bottom takes roughly three months using specially designed robotic cleaning systems developed in Melbourne, Australia.
World Records the Burj Khalifa Holds
When the Burj Khalifa opened in 2010, it broke eight world records simultaneously. Here are the most significant ones it still holds today.
- Tallest building in the world: 828 m (architectural height, CTBUH-certified)
- Tallest freestanding structure: 829.8 m, surpassing the CN Tower at 553.3 m
- Building with the most floors: 163 floors
- World’s highest restaurant: At.mosphere on floor 122 at 442 m (1,450 ft)
- World’s highest outdoor observation deck: At The Top SKY, floor 148 at 555 m (1,821 ft)
- World’s longest elevator travel distance: 504 m (1,654 ft) of vertical travel
- Highest fireworks display on a building: New Year’s Eve 2015, 1.6 tonnes of fireworks
- World’s tallest structure that includes residential space.
Visiting the Burj Khalifa – Which Floor Can You Visit?
The Burj Khalifa offers three public viewing experiences, each at a different height. Each one gives a genuinely different perspective of Dubai the higher you go, the more of the UAE coastline, desert, and cityscape you can see.
At The Top – Floors 124 and 125 (452–456 m)
At The Top is the original and most popular observation experience. Floor 124 gives you an indoor gallery and a covered outdoor terrace at 452 metres. Floor 125 extends the experience upward to 456 metres with additional viewing areas. Both floors offer panoramic views in every direction. This is the most accessible and budget-friendly of the three experiences.
At The Top SKY – Floor 148 (555 m)
At The Top SKY sits at 555 metres on floor 148 the highest publicly accessible outdoor observation deck in the world. The experience includes a hosted lounge, personalised guide service, and access to an outdoor terrace where you stand more than half a kilometre above street level. Capacity is limited, so this sells out regularly.
The Lounge – Floors 152–154 (585 m)
The Lounge on floors 152 to 154 is the world’s highest lounge at approximately 585 metres. It offers food and beverage service in a refined setting at the very top of the habitable portion of the building higher than any other publicly accessible space in any skyscraper on Earth.
🎫 Book Your Visit: Tickets to all three Burj Khalifa experiences sell out well in advance, especially during peak season and sunset slots. Book early to avoid disappointment.
You can check availability and secure your spot on our Burj Khalifa Tickets page.
The Bottom Line on Burj Khalifa’s Height
The Burj Khalifa stands 828 metres (2,717 ft) tall, has 163 floors, and has been the world’s tallest building since 2009. Its spire adds 244 metres of architectural drama to a structure that would still be the tallest in the world even without it at 585 metres to the highest occupied floor. No other building comes close to matching it in 2026.
If you are a curious reader, a student comparing skyscrapers, or a traveller planning a trip to Dubai, the numbers behind the Burj Khalifa reward a closer look. This is not just the tallest building ever built it is an engineering solution to one of architecture’s most ambitious questions: how high can we go?
If you are planning to experience it in person, do not leave it to the last minute. Book your observation deck visit early and make sure you go at sunset for the views that make this tower genuinely unforgettable.
🔗 Useful Links: Book tickets and plan your visit at dubaitweeks.com
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How tall is the Burj Khalifa in metres?
The Burj Khalifa is 828 metres tall. This is the official architectural height recognised by the CTBUH and Guinness World Records. The absolute tip including a small communications needle reaches 829.8 metres.
2. How tall is the Burj Khalifa in feet?
The Burj Khalifa stands 2,717 feet tall to its architectural top. To the very tip it reaches 2,722 feet. The 2,717 ft figure is the one used in all official rankings.
3. How many floors does the Burj Khalifa have?
The Burj Khalifa has 163 floors above ground and 2 basement levels. Floors 155–163 are mechanical levels. If you count the non-habitable structural levels inside the spire, the technical total is closer to 209 levels, but 163 is the standard official figure.
4. What is the height of the Burj Khalifa in km?
In kilometres, the Burj Khalifa stands 0.828 km tall — just over 82% of a full kilometre. It sits about 17 kilometres away from the nearest coastline and is visible from up to 95 km away on a clear day.
5. How tall is the Burj Khalifa in miles?
The Burj Khalifa is approximately 0.514 miles tall — just over half a mile. Descriptions often round this to ‘just over half a mile into the sky’, which remains accurate for the architectural height of 828 m.
6. What is on the 125th floor of the Burj Khalifa?
Floor 125 is the upper level of the At The Top observation deck, sitting at 456 metres (1,496 ft) above ground. It offers both indoor and outdoor viewing areas with unobstructed 360-degree views of Dubai, the Arabian Gulf, and the surrounding desert. Floors 124 and 125 together form the At The Top experience.
7. Is the Burj Khalifa still the world’s tallest building in 2026?
Yes. The Burj Khalifa remains the world’s tallest building in 2026 by all recognised measures. Its closest rival, Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, stands 679 metres — a full 149 metres shorter. The Burj Khalifa is expected to hold the record until the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia completes construction, currently projected around 2028.
