19 of the Tallest Statues In The World

Humans love tall things. From the Pyramids and other ancient giant structures in Egypt to the astonishing earthworks of Indigenous American people, to the Colossus of Rhodes, people like to build big. And people specifically love to create big statues.

In the modern era, it’s a race to the top. Statues are built to chase the coveted tallest-in-the-world status, with many only briefly holding the title. 

Presented here are 19 of the coolest giant statues you should know. To give you an idea of scale, each statue will be measured in both feet and how many Statues of Liberty would be needed to stack up to them. 

1. Statue of Unity, India

• 597 ft. 
• 3.95 Statues of Liberty 

The reigning champ of the tallest statue club, the Statue of Unity was inaugurated in 2018 to honor Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Iron Man of India.

Sardar Patel, as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India, united the 562 Indian states to create the Republic of India.

2. Spring Temple Buddha, China

• 420 ft.
• 2.78 Statues of Liberty 

This enormous copper Buddha took eleven years to build, from 1997 to 2008. It managed to hang on to the “Tallest Statue in the World” crown for a decade until the Statue of Unity nabbed the title. 

3. Laykyun Sekkya, Myanmar

• 380 ft.
• 2.51 Statues of Liberty 

Depicting Buddha Shakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, this giant monument opened in 2008 after 12 years of construction.

It took so long to build in part because it was funded exclusively by local donations from the community. 

4. Vishwas Swaroopam, India

• 369 ft. 
• 2.44 Statues of Liberty 

Also known as the Statue of Belief, this concrete giant is one of the largest statues of Lord Shiva and in the top five tallest statues of anything anywhere.

It took a decade and 750 people to build and is visible from 12.5 miles away. 

5. Ushiku Daibutsu, Japan

• 393 ft. 
• 2.60 Statues of Liberty 

Ushiku Daibutsu, the holder of the 1995 Guinness World Record for the tallest bronze statue in the world, is, first and foremost, a temple.

Visitors can see a golden gallery of 3400 Buddhas, pray, copy sutras, request memorial services, and even bring cremated remains to lay to rest. 

6. Sendai Daikannon, Japan

• 328 ft.
• 2.17 Statues of Liberty 

A Goddess who represents the concept of compassion in Japanese Buddhism, this statue of the Daikannon is another temple with a beautiful outer form.

Visitors can see smaller statues depicting the 33 forms of the Daikannon, and 108 Buddhas, each with a different emotion. 

7. Guishan Guanyin, China

• 325 ft. 
• 2.15 Statues of Liberty 

This massive golden monument claims to be the tallest outdoor statue of the thousand-hand Bodhisattva.

Given that the many-handed golden edifice is 30 stories tall, it’s hard to imagine why they need to specify it’s the tallest “outdoor” statue of its subject. 

8. Mother of All Asia – Tower of Peace, Philippines

• 322 ft. 
• 2.13 Statues of Liberty 

The largest statue of the Virgin Mary in the world, the Mother of All Asia is also the only statue in the world you can live in.

It houses a 129,166-square-foot retirement community and is packed with symbolism related to Christianity.

9. Great Buddha of Thailand

• 302 ft.
• 2 Statues of Liberty 

The biggest statue of Buddha in Thailand, this gold-painted concrete statue took 18 years to build.

Visitors are encouraged to touch Buddha’s right hand for blessings.

Inside is also the first and largest silver Buddha in Thailand, while surrounding it are the Hell Gardens, filled with statues depicting Buddhist hell. 

10. Dai Kannon of Kita no Miyako Park, Japan

• 288 ft. 
• 1.90 Statues of Liberty

Another statue of Dai Kannon, the Kita no Myako Park Kannon was completed in 1989 and held the “World’s Tallest” record for two years until 1991.

The Kita no Miyako Dai Kannon is one of the few survivors of a wave of giant statues built during the Japanese economic boom of the 1980s. 

11. The Motherland Calls, Russia

• 279 ft. 
• 1.84 Statues of Liberty 

Part of the memorial to the Battle of Stalingrad, The Motherland Calls is referred to as the largest statue of a woman in the world. It also holds an astonishingly massive sword, 108 feet of stainless steel. 

The dynamic pose and outstretched limbs are a masterwork of tension engineering, undercut–literally–by the oversight of not bolting the monument down to its foundation.

Shifting groundwater threatens to topple Motherland, though conservation efforts are underway. 

12. Lingshan Grand Buddha, China

• 288 ft. 
• 1.90 Statues of Liberty 

The tallest bronze Shakyamuni Buddha statue in the world was constructed in 1997. The Lingshan Buddha is one in a series of five, built as part of the highly influential “Five Great Buddhas in Five Orientations of China” project.

The five Buddhas were the brainchild of Zhao Puchu, the former chairman of the Buddhist Association of China. 

13. Guanyin of Nanshan, China

• 354 ft. 
• 2.34 Statues of Liberty 

Completed in 2005, this incredible statue has three different faces. One looks inland on the small island that holds it, while the other two gaze out on the South China Sea.

Each face holds something different: Buddha beads, a lotus, and a small case, meant to represent benevolence, peace, and wisdom.

14. Leshan Giant Buddha, China

• 233 ft. 
• 1.54 Statues of Liberty 

Carved over 90 years spanning 713 to 803, the largest Maitreya Buddha statue carved out of a cliff in the world was carved from Lingyun Mountain, at the join of the Minjiang, Dadu, and Qingyi Rivers.

Over 1400 years old, the Leshan Buddha has been preserved thanks to regular maintenance and a clever system of drainage that keeps the statue from eroding.

15. The Motherland Monument, Ukraine

• 288 ft. 
• 1.90 Statues of Liberty 

Constructed when solid steel giant statuary was almost unheard of, The Motherland Monument is welded solid from 478 tons of steel.

Due to the complexity of the task, new welding technology was created to accomplish the feat.

Thanks to the innovative techniques, Motherland is held together by 18 and a half miles of weld seams. It commemorates the accomplishments of Ukraine in the Second World War. 

16. Garuda Wisnu Kencana, Indonesia

• 393 ft. 
• 2.60 Statues of Liberty 

Constructed to be the tallest statue in Indonesia, the Garuda Wisnu Kencana also holds the title of the tallest statue of a Hindu god.

While the project started in 1990, it was delayed in 1997 by the Asian economic crisis. It resumed construction in 2013 and opened in 2018, requiring 28 years from design to completion.

It depicts Garuda from the Hindu myth of the search for Amrita, the elixir of life. 

17. Statue of Guan Yu, China

• 190 ft.
• 1.25 Statues of Liberty 

Constructed in Jingzhou, China, the team behind this depiction of the deified General Guan Yu had their eyes on a Guinness Record for the largest bronze statue of Lord Yu.

The incredible statue delighted tourists and Internet users, but locals and the Chinese Communist Party were unhappy. 

Jingzhou is a historic district, and not only did the massive modern statue clash with the locale, it also violated maximum height laws. Thankfully, the CCP is moving the statue to the more suburban and tourist-friendly Dianjiangtai rather than demolishing it. 

18. Kaga Kannon, Japan

• 239 ft. 
• 1.58 Statues of Liberty

The Daikannon in Kaga, Japan was built in 1987 by Toshio Shimanaka, the Building King of the Kansai. Depicting Daikannon holding a baby, the statue is owned by a private company that bought the land it stands on. 

The idea was to create a utopian religious and leisure retreat to revitalize and improve tourism to Shimanaka’s hometown. But like many giant statues built during the craze of the 1980s and ’90s, things fell apart when the bubble economy popped, and today the statue’s future is uncertain. 

19. Lady Buddha Statue of Black Virgin Mountain, Vietnam 

• 236 ft. 
• 1.56 Statues of Liberty 

Clocking in a whopping 170 tons of bronze, the Lady Buddha is the highest copper structure in a mountain peak in all of Asia, and the tallest bronze Buddha on a mountain peak in Vietnam, according to Guinness World Records.

It adds another reason to visit, beyond the regional fame of Black Virgin Mountain as a sacred destination for Buddhists.