What skyscrapers reveal about countries that build them

They are miracles of engineering and 'boasts in glass and steel'.

A skyscraper is a statement of ambition. No surprise, then, that Saudi Arabia wants to build the world's tallest.

Construction on the Jeddah Tower halted in 2018, but will restart soon; when completed, it will be the first building ever to stretch to a dizzying 1,000m. The Jeddah Tower's nearly 170 storeys will house the usual combination of luxury flats, hotel rooms and offices. On one side visitors will be able to gaze on a new financial district; on another, across the Red Sea.

The building may be costing approximately US$1.2 billion (S$1.54 billion), but that is a trifling sum given the more than US$1 trillion that Saudi Arabia is spending on developing infrastructure, luring tourists and repositioning itself on the global stage. Leaders see the tower - which resembles a jagged splinter of glass - as a symbol of the kingdom's power. It "sends a financial and economic message that should not be ignored", Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who is overseeing the project, has said.

If that is the case, other places are sending out similar steely messages. There are 236 "supertall" buildings across the world - a label given to anything bigger than 300m - and 160 of them have been erected since 2014, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), a research group. Another 96 are under way. These hulking piles reshape skylines and cities. And, as well as reaching skyward, they point towards geopolitical and cultural trends. Which countries are building supertalls, and why?

The Middle East is home to 20 per cent of all supertalls. The United Arab Emirates, like Saudi Arabia, is showing off its oil wealth and status as one of the region's fastest-growing economies. It has 35 supertalls; Dubai alone boasts 31, more than any other city. Its behemoth is the Burj Khalifa, which, at 828m, has been the world's tallest tower since opening in 2010.