Map of Countries With The World’s Tallest Building And/or Free Standing Structure Since 4,000 BC

The two maps here show how few countries have a claim to having once had the world’s tallest building and/or free standing structure since 4,000 BC.

The world’s current tallest building is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which is also the tallest manmade structure ever built.

However, I’m not sure the Great Pyramid of Giza (the structure that had held the title the longest) can really be considered a building in the modern sense.

In any case the map above shows how long each country (based on current modern borders) held the record, and below shows how many structures each country had that were at one point the tallest.

Country	Years With The Tallest	Number of Structures
Egypt	3,895	5
Iraq	1,350	1
England	308	2
France	277	4
Germany	100	3
United States	42	3
Canada	32	1
UAE	18	1
Russia	8	1

List of all buildings and structures.

Structure Name & Location	Tallest For How Many Years	Record start date	Constructed	Height (metres)	Height (feet)	Additional Notes
Anu Ziggurat, Uruk, Iraq	1,350	c. 4000 BC	c. 4000 BC	13	40
Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara, Egypt	40	c. 2650 BC	c. 2650 BC	62.5	205	First Egyptian pyramid, formed of six stacked mastabas.
Meidum Pyramid, Egypt	5	c. 2610 BC	c. 2610 BC	91.65	301	Shortly after completion Meidum Pyramid collapsed due to bad design/instability and is now 65 m (213 ft).
Bent Pyramid, Dashur, Egypt	5	c. 2605 BC	c. 2605 BC	104.71	343.5	Angle of slope decreased during construction to avoid collapse.
Red Pyramid of Sneferu, Egypt	30	c. 2600 BC	c. 2600 BC	105	344.5
Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt	3,810	c. 2570 BC	c. 2570 BC	146.6	481	By 1647, the Great Pyramid had eroded to a height of approximately 139 m (456 ft).
Old St Paul's Cathedral in London, England	71	1240	1087–1666	149	489
Lincoln Cathedral in England	237	1311	1092–1311	160	525	The central spire was destroyed in a storm in 1549. While the reputed height of 525 ft (160 m) is accepted by most sources, some others consider it doubtful
St. Mary's Church in Stralsund, Germany	20 (first run)	1549	1384–1478	151	495	(See also resumption 1573–1647). Today its church tower has a dome and stands at 104 m (341.2 ft) tall.
Beauvais Cathedral in France	4	1569	1272–1569	153	502	Spire collapsed in 1573; today, the church stands at a height of 67.2 metres (220.5 ft).
St. Mary's Church in Stralsund, Germany	94 (prior 20 + new 74)	1573	1384–1478	151	495	See also 1549–1569. The church tower's spire burnt down after a lightning strike in 1647. Today the tower has a dome and stands at a height of 104 m (341 ft).
Strasbourg Cathedral in France	227	1647	1439	142	466	By 1647, the Great Pyramid had eroded to a height of approximately 139 m (456 ft) hence Strasbourg Cathedral was higher.
St. Nikolai in Hamburg, Germany	2	1874	1846–1874	147	483	The nave was demolished by aerial bombing during World War II; only the spire remains.
Cathédrale Notre Dame in Rouen, France	4	1876	1202–1876	151	495
Cologne Cathedral in Germany	4	1880	1248–1880	157.38	515
Washington Monument in Washington D.C., United States	5	1884	1884	169.29	555	The world's tallest all-stone structure, as well as the tallest obelisk-form structure.
Eiffel Tower in Paris, France	42	1889	1887–1889	312	1,024	The addition of a telecommunications tower in the 1950s brought the overall height to 330 m (1,080 ft).
Chrysler Building in New York, United States	1	1930	1928–1930	319	1,046
Empire State Building in New York, United States	36	1931	1930–1931	381	1,250	First building with 100+ stories. The addition of a pinnacle and antennas later increased its overall height to 448.7 m (1,472 ft). This was subsequently lowered to 443.1 m (1,454 ft).
Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Soviet Union	8	1967	1963–1967	540	1,762	Remains the tallest in Europe. Fire in 2000 led to extensive renovation.
CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada	32	1975	1973–1976	553.33	1,815.39	The tallest in the Western Hemisphere.
Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates	present	2007	2004–2009	829.8	2,722	Holder of world's tallest freestanding structure. Topped out at 829.8 m (2,722 ft) in 2009.