And while nature provides many great opportunities for admiring such scenery, some of the best views are actually from man-made structures. In particular, the world’s tallest glass skyscrapers provide an unparalleled chance to see the surrounding city and landscape from an unobstructed bird’s eye view.
The Five Tallest Glass Skyscrapers
Today’s infographic from Abbey Glass shows us the five tallest glass skyscrapers in the world, as well as the views from the top of these structures. Four of the five tallest glass skyscrapers are located in Asia, which is not surprising considering that 76.4% of all skyscrapers completed in 2015 were on the Asian continent. It’s also worth noting that all of the skyscrapers on this list are relatively new, with the oldest being built in 2008 – for a more visual representation of this trend, see our post documenting how the world’s tallest buildings have changed over time.
- Burj Khalifa (Dubai, UAE) The Burj Khalifa, completed in 2010 in 1,325 days, is an engineering feat. At 828m (2,717 ft) tall, the view from the world’s tallest building makes other “skyscrapers” in the city look microscopic. Despite having 18 built-in maintenance units for cleaning the windows of the Burj Khalifa, it still takes three to four full months to wipe down the exterior of this monstrosity.
- Shanghai Tower (Shanghai, China) The Shanghai Tower, the tallest skyscraper completed in 2015, stands at 632m (2,073 ft). It’s the world’s second-tallest building, and has been designed as a spiral that twists an average of 1% per floor.
- One World Trade Center (New York, USA) The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere is located on the site of the two original World Trade Center towers. Its height in feet (1,776 ft) corresponds with the year the United States achieved independence.
- Shanghai World Financial Center (Shanghai, China) The Shanghai World Financial Center, completed in 2008, is the oldest building on this list. At 492m (1,614 ft) in height, it has been engineered to withstand a magnitude eight earthquake, lightning strikes, or the typhoon-force winds often encountered in the city.
- International Commerce Center (Hong Kong, China) The tallest building in Hong Kong is also the fifth-tallest glass skyscraper in the world. At 484m (1,587 ft), it is also home to the world’s highest swimming pool. on Even while political regimes across these countries have changed over time, they’ve largely followed a few different types of governance. Today, every country can ultimately be classified into just nine broad forms of government systems. This map by Truman Du uses information from Wikipedia to map the government systems that rule the world today.
Countries By Type of Government
It’s important to note that this map charts government systems according to each country’s legal framework. Many countries have constitutions stating their de jure or legally recognized system of government, but their de facto or realized form of governance may be quite different. Here is a list of the stated government system of UN member states and observers as of January 2023: Let’s take a closer look at some of these systems.
Monarchies
Brought back into the spotlight after the death of Queen Elizabeth II of England in September 2022, this form of government has a single ruler. They carry titles from king and queen to sultan or emperor, and their government systems can be further divided into three modern types: constitutional, semi-constitutional, and absolute. A constitutional monarchy sees the monarch act as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, giving them little to no real power. For example, King Charles III is the head of 15 Commonwealth nations including Canada and Australia. However, each has their own head of government. On the other hand, a semi-constitutional monarchy lets the monarch or ruling royal family retain substantial political powers, as is the case in Jordan and Morocco. However, their monarchs still rule the country according to a democratic constitution and in concert with other institutions. Finally, an absolute monarchy is most like the monarchies of old, where the ruler has full power over governance, with modern examples including Saudi Arabia and Vatican City.
Republics
Unlike monarchies, the people hold the power in a republic government system, directly electing representatives to form government. Again, there are multiple types of modern republic governments: presidential, semi-presidential, and parliamentary. The presidential republic could be considered a direct progression from monarchies. This system has a strong and independent chief executive with extensive powers when it comes to domestic affairs and foreign policy. An example of this is the United States, where the President is both the head of state and the head of government. In a semi-presidential republic, the president is the head of state and has some executive powers that are independent of the legislature. However, the prime minister (or chancellor or equivalent title) is the head of government, responsible to the legislature along with the cabinet. Russia is a classic example of this type of government. The last type of republic system is parliamentary. In this system, the president is a figurehead, while the head of government holds real power and is validated by and accountable to the parliament. This type of system can be seen in Germany, Italy, and India and is akin to constitutional monarchies. It’s also important to point out that some parliamentary republic systems operate slightly differently. For example in South Africa, the president is both the head of state and government, but is elected directly by the legislature. This leaves them (and their ministries) potentially subject to parliamentary confidence.
One-Party State
Many of the systems above involve multiple political parties vying to rule and govern their respective countries. In a one-party state, also called a single-party state or single-party system, only one political party has the right to form government. All other political parties are either outlawed or only allowed limited participation in elections. In this system, a country’s head of state and head of government can be executive or ceremonial but political power is constitutionally linked to a single political movement. China is the most well-known example of this government system, with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China ruling as the de facto leader since 1989.
Provisional
The final form of government is a provisional government formed as an interim or transitional government. In this system, an emergency governmental body is created to manage political transitions after the collapse of a government, or when a new state is formed. Often these evolve into fully constitutionalized systems, but sometimes they hold power for longer than expected. Some examples of countries that are considered provisional include Libya, Burkina Faso, and Chad.
