A remarkable rise: UAE has third most skyscrapers in the world

The UAE's remarkable journey from a desert land to striking urban metropolis has been a soaring success.

A major part of the country's rapid development - and the transformation of its landscape - has been the rise of the skyscraper.

Armed with a vision to build the nation from the ground up, its leaders have long held sky-high ambition and an ability to think big.

Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, highlighted the UAE's towering achievements after revealing the country has the third largest number of skyscrapers (structures standing at least 150 metres) in the world.

الدول التي لديها أكبر عدد من ناطحات السحاب (أعلى من 150 متر). pic.twitter.com/Q2iym8vznH
— سيف بن زايد آل نهيان (@SaifBZayed) October 7, 2020

Sheikh Saif shared an Instagram post from @worldwide_engineering to his two million followers on Twitter, detailing the swift increase in the number of skyscrapers built across the globe.

It lays bare the speed of construction in the UAE, which does not feature in the top 10 list until 2005, and then only with less than 30 skyscrapers to its name.

The Emirates now ranks alongside Japan with 251, behind only the US (800) and world-leading China (2,055), countries with much larger land mass and greater scope for development, according to the data.

The shimmering jewel in the crown remains the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building at a cloud-piercing 828 metres.

The iconic building has maintained its place in the record books since opening on January 4, 2010.

Reaching for the skies using modern architectural structures began in 1885 with the Home Insurance Building, which stood at the corner of Adams and LaSalle Streets in Chicago, left. Today's pinaccle remains the 10-year-old Burj Khalifa in Dubai, right. Getty / AFP

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Shanghai Tower is next on the lofty list at 632 metres, with Makkah Royal Clock Tower in Saudi Arabia (601 metres), Ping An Finance Centre in Shenzhen, China (599.1 metres) and Seoul's Lotte World Tower (554.5 metres) making up the formidable top five compiled by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

While it stands above the rest in the UAE, the Burj Khalifa is far from alone in a country packed with super structures.

The country is home to 28 buildings which are at least 300-metres high.

Seventeen of the 20 tallest buildings can be found in Dubai, with Abu Dhabi boasting the fifth highest in the form of the residential apartment block Burj Mohammed bin Rashid (381.2 metres), before the imperious Adnoc headquarters (342 metres) in 14th and The Landmark (324 metres), a residential and office complex, in 20th position.