A total of 88 buildings measuring 200 meters (656 feet) or above were completed in cities across China this year. The figure sets a new benchmark for annual skyscraper construction in a single country, and is almost seven times higher than the 13 completions recorded in the US, which ranked a distant second.
The rate of skyscraper development around the world has surged over the last decade. Globally, the number of new 200-meter-plus buildings fell slightly to 143 this year (four fewer than 2017's all-time record of 147), but it is still the second-highest figure in history, according to CTBUH's annual report.
Much of this growth has been driven by China. The country accounted for 61.5% of new buildings recorded in the CTBUH's 2018 figures. Of those, 14 were built in the southern city of Shenzhen, which topped the city rankings for the third consecutive year ahead of Dubai, Beijing, New York and the northern Chinese city of Shenyang.
China was also home to 2018's single largest new building: Beijing's Citic Tower (pictured top).
Known as China Zun -- a reference to a type of ceremonial wine vessel that it resembles -- the 1,731-foot (528-meter) structure is now the eighth tallest building in the world.
Asian cities dominated the rest of the list of the year's tallest completions, with Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Changsha, China, also finishing structures taller than 400 meters (1312 feet) in the last 12 months.
Elsewhere, the South American capitals of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Bogota, Colombia, finished their biggest towers to date. San Francisco and Miami also completed their tallest ever skyscrapers: the 326-meter (1,070-foot) Salesforce Tower and the 252-meter (827-foot) Panorama Tower, respectively.
The Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia is, at 342 meters (1,121 feet), the tallest building to be completed outside of Asia this year, and the tallest in the city.