The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: Yoga enthusiasts perform sun salutations in front of the Sydney skyline.
Photographs: Tim Wimborne/Reuters

Can a mathematical formula capture the beauty of a city? Building data website Emporis certainly thinks so.

It has ranked the best skylines in the world using statistics that assigns point to each building based on its floor count. The calculation does not include TV towers, masts, bridges, or other structures. Here's the list:

Sydney, Australia

Rank: 30

Number of points: 4,656

Number of buildings: 852

Population: 4,627,345

Area size: 12,144 sq km

Source: Emporis

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: Cuban immigrant Ana Soto poses during a photo session with the Miami skyline in the background.
Photographs: Andrew Innerarity/Reuters

Miami, US

Rank: 29

Number of points: 4,796

Number of buildings: 300

Population: 408,750

Area size: 92 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: A general view of buildings at Refice, northeast Brazil.
Photographs: Bruno Domingos/Reuters

Recife, Brazil

Rank: 28

Number of points: 4,881

Number of buildings: 1,104

Population: 1,555,039

Area size: 218 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: Overview of the Buenos Aires' docks.
Photographs: Enrique Marcarian/Reuters

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Rank: 27

Number of points: 5,083

Number of buildings: 1,710

Population: 2,891,082

Area size: 200 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: Night view of Osaka City, the capital of Osaka Prefecture and one of the largest cities in Japan.
Photographs: Kimimasa Mayama/Reuters

Osaka, Japan

Rank: 26

Number of points: 5,213

Number of buildings: 1,466

Population: 2,871,680

Area size: 220 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: A general view of local and foreign casinos in Macau, including Hotel Lisboa (in pink) and Wynn Macau (with orange lines), in the evening.
Photographs: Dennis Ho/Reuters

Macau, China

Rank: 25

Number of points: 5,336

Number of buildings: 566

Population: 568,700

Area size: 21 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: A seagull sits at the observation deck of the historical Galata tower with snow-covered Karakoy district and the old city in the background in Istanbul.
Photographs: Murad Sezer/Reuters

Istanbul, Turkey

Rank: 24

Number of points: 5,411

Number of buildings: 2,245

Population: 10,121,565

Area size: 1,991 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: An aerial view shows the roof installation at the Maracana Stadium, which is undergoing renovation for the 2014 World Cup, in Rio de Janeiro.
Photographs: Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rank: 23

Number of points: 5,786

Number of buildings: 2,567

Population: 6,323,037

Area size: 1,182 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: The Welcome Statue fountain is seen before Earth Hour in Jakarta.
Photographs: Supri/Reuters

Jakarta, Indonesia

Rank: 22

Number of points: 5,931

Number of buildings: 410

Population: 10,187,595

Area size: 661 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: A general view of the office buildings and Guomao Bridge (bottom) in Beijing's Central Business District.
Photographs: Jason Lee/Reuters

Beijing, China

Rank: 21

Number of points: 6,670

Number of buildings: 905

Population: 7,746,519

Area size: 16,808 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: Monsoon clouds loom over Mumbai's skyline.
Photographs: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Mumbai, India

Rank: 20

Number of points: 6,876

Number of buildings: 1,303

Population: 12,478,447

Area size: 621 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: The Songdo International Business District in Incheon is seen in this aerial photo.
Photographs: Lee Jae-Won/Reuters

Incheon, South Korea

Rank: 19

Number of points: 7,235

Number of buildings: 412

Population: 2,710,579

Area size: 1,029 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: People are seen in Plaza de Francia in Panama City.
Photographs: Carlos Jasso/Reuters

Panama City, Panama

Rank: 18

Number of points: 7,418

Number of buildings: 213

Population: 880,691

Area size: 2,561 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: BASE jumper Eder Navacerrada of Spain leaps before opening his parachute, from Kuala Lumpur Tower.
Photographs: Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Rank: 17

Number of points: 7,502

Number of buildings: 566

Population: 1,627,172

Area size: 244 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: Residents walk past the Chongqing People's Liberation Monument, which was built in 1945 to commemorate the victory over the Japanese during the World War II, in Chongqing municipality.
Photographs: Reuters

Chongqing, China

Rank: 16

Number of points: 8,599

Number of buildings: 546

Population: 6,300,000

Area size: 82,403 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: China's top golfer Zhang Lianwei (C) hits on the 14th fairway overlooking the city skyline during the third round of the $1.2 million China Open golf tournament at Shenzhen Golf Club in China's southern city of Shenzhen.
Photographs: Bobby Yip/Reuters

Shenzhen, China

Rank: 15

Number of points: 8,640

Number of buildings: 368

Population: 3,538,275

Area size: 2,020 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: An artist adds finishing touches to a sand sculpture at the upcoming Haeundae Sand Festival in Busan.
Photographs: Nicky Loh/Reuters

Busan, South Korea

Rank: 14

Number of points: 9,804

Number of buildings: 257

Population: 3,614,950

Area size: 528 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: A reporter leans over the edge of the catwalk during the media preview for the
Photographs: Mark Blinch/Reuters

Toronto, Canada

Rank: 13

Number of points: 10,438

Number of buildings: 1,908

Population: 2,615,060

Area size: 630 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: A general view of uptown in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou
Photographs: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

Guangzhou, China

Rank: 12

Number of points: 12,524

Number of buildings: 512

Population: 6,560,500

Area size: 7,434 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: A general view shows the Moscow International Business Center and the Mercury City Tower (R) after a ceremony to present it as Europe's tallest skyscraper in Moscow.
Photographs: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

Moscow, Russia

Rank: 11

Number of points: 12,746

Number of buildings: 3,815

Population: 11,503,501

Area size: 1,081 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: Japan's Mt Fuji, covered with snow, is seen through Shinjuku skyscrapers in Tokyo.
Photographs: Kimimasa Mayama/Reuters

Tokyo, Japan

Rank: 10

Number of points: 13,556

Number of buildings: 2,707

Population: 8,967,665

Area size: 621 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: A skytrain passes over vehicles on the road in Bangkok.
Photographs: Kerek Wongsa/Reuters

Bangkok, Thailand

Rank: 9

Number of points: 15,302

Number of buildings: 904

Population: 8,280,925

Area size: 1,569 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: A view of the city skyline from the Shanghai Financial Center building.
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

Shanghai, China

Rank: 8

Number of points: 15,976

Number of buildings: 1,005

Population: 17,836,133

Area size: 6,639 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: Storm clouds are seen above the city in Sao Paulo.
Photographs: Mario Miranda/Reuters

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Rank: 7

Number of points: 17,331

Number of buildings: 5,676

Population: 11,316,149

Area size: 1,523 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: Part of Gangnam area is seen in Seoul.
Photographs: Lee Jae-Won/Reuters

Seoul, South Korea

Rank: 6

Number of points: 18,055

Number of buildings: 2,898

Population: 10,581,728

Area size: 616 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: An artist's impression of one of the world's tallest hotels in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Photographs: Reuters

Dubai, UAE

Rank: 5

Number of points: 18,823

Number of buildings: 629

Population: 2,104,895

Area size: 3,885 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: The Chicago skyline is seen before Earth Hour.
Photographs: Jim Young/Reuters

Chicago, US

Rank: 4

Number of points: 19,647

Number of buildings: 1,134

Population: 2,707,120

Area size: 589 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: People look at the skyline of the central business district from the Skybridge of The Pinnacles at Duxton public housing estate in Singapore.
Photographs: Edgar Su/Reuters

Singapore

Rank: 3

Number of points: 19,962

Number of buildings: 4,398

Population: 5,312,400

Area size: 710 sq km

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The 30 most beautiful skylines in the world

Image: A full moon rises behind the Empire State Building in New York as a man watches in a park along the Hudson River in Hoboken.
Photographs: Gary Hershorn/Reuters

New York City, US

Rank: 2

Number of points: 40,455

Number of buildings: 5,998

Population: 8,336,697

Area size: 800 sq km

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