Did you know that China has the most skyscrapers in the world, almost triple those of the US and the UAE put together, and that The Home Insurance Building in Chicago (US) is generally considered to be the world's first skyscraper?

A skyscraper is generally defined as any building that is more than 150 metres (492 ft) tall and has more than 40 storeys. Considered the world's first skyscraper is the Home Insurance Building that stood in Chicago from 1885 to its demolition in 1931. Originally ten stories and 138 ft (42.1 m) tall, it was designed by William Le Baron Jenney in 1884 and construction began on May 1 in that year and was completed the next year.

The Home Insurance Building had two floors added in 1891, bringing its now finished height to 180 feet (54.9 meters), 12 floors, an unprecedented height at the time. It was the first tall building to be supported both inside and outside by a fireproof structural steel frame, though it also included reinforced concrete. The building weighed one-third as much as a masonry building and city officials were so concerned they halted construction while they investigated its safety.

In April 1929 the building was reported as having a 90 percent occupancy rate, compared to an occupancy rate of the surrounding financial district estimated at 96 percent or more. In September 1929 plans were made by Marshall Field's to construct a large office building spanning Adams, Clark, and LaSalle Streets. This building would be constructed and opened in parts, the first part occupying the western part of the lot and the site of the Home Insurance Building.

At least six buildings were demolished to make way for the Field Building, including the Home Insurance Building. In 1932, owners placed a plaque in the southwest section of the lobby reading: "This section of the Field Building is erected on the site of the Home Insurance Building, which structure, designed and built in eighteen hundred and eighty four by the late William Le Baron Jenney, was the first high building to utilize as the basic principle of its design the method known as skeleton construction and, being a primal influence in the acceptance of this principle, was the true father of the skyscraper, 1932."

The following is a list of countries with the most skyscrapers. Note that other structures like observation towers or lattice towers are excluded on this list.

1. China 3,259
2. United States 1,025
3. United Arab Emirates 336
4. Malaysia 309
5. Japan 284
6. South Korea 281
7. Canada 162
8. Australia 161
9. Indonesia 138
10. Thailand 137

In the history of skyscraper construction, the United States had the world's tallest building until 1998, when the Burj Khalifa in Dubai became the world's tallest building in 2010. The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were the world's tallest buildings in the late 1990s. Meanwhile, the Middle East, China, and Southeast Asia have seen a boom in skyscraper construction since the beginning of the 21st century.

SOURCE: Wikipedia

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