Our list of the world’s largest shopping centers has been made according to the amount of “Gross Leasable Area”.
This is the number of square meters owned by the property for income generating activities such as retail, dining and entertainment.
The building boom in Asia, where land was cheap and labor costs were low, produced the largest shopping malls.
Only two malls on this list are located outside of Asia.
Siam Paragon (3.22 million square feet)
pahonyontin / Flickr
Siam Paragon in Bangkok is one of Thailand’s largest shopping malls.
It includes a multi-story movie theater, Siam Ocean World aquarium, Thai Art Gallery and an opera concert hall, along with a wide variety of specialty shops and restaurants.
9. Berjaya Times Square (3.44 million square feet)
Dave_B_ / Flickr
Located in Kuala Lumpur, Berjaya Times Square is a twin tower complex that includes a shopping mall and two five-star hotels.
With a built floor area of 7.5 million square feet (700,000 m²), it is currently the fifth largest building in the world.
The mall features more than 1,000 retail stores, 65 eateries and various entertainment venues including Asia’s largest indoor theme park, Cosmo’s World and Malaysia’s first IMAX 2D and 3D theater located on the 10th Floor.
elif ayşe / Flickr
Cevahir Shopping and Entertainment Center, located on the European side of Istanbul in Turkey, opened its doors in 2005.
It is the largest shopping center in Europe.
Other facilities include a large stage for events, 12 cinemas, a bowling alley, a small roller coaster and many other entertainment facilities.
vanou / Flickr
Opened in 1991, SM Megamall in Metro Manila is one of the largest shopping malls in the Philippines.
The mall attracts a daily pedestrian traffic of 800,000 people with a maximum capacity of 4 million people.
Building A contains cinemas, bowling alley, food courts and the Toy Kingdom.
There are retail outlets in Building B.
The bridge road connecting the two main buildings of the mall includes several dining venues.
When finished, it will be able to claim the title of the largest mall in the Philippines.
6. West Edmonton Mall (3.77 million square feet)
canadian / Flickr
The mall features 800 shops and services, as well as the world’s largest indoor amusement park, the world’s largest indoor water park, and the Ice Palace (a scaled-down version of an NHL regulation-sized ice rink, so it’s not the world’s largest).
Other attractions include the 18-hole miniature golf course, movie theater and bowling alley.
5. Dubai Mall (3.77 million square meters)
Chu / Flickr
At over 12 million square feet (the size of more than 50 football fields), Dubai Mall is the world’s largest shopping mall by total area, but roughly the same size as West Edmonton Mall by rentable area.
The mall has more than 1,200 stores, including the world’s largest candy store, an ice rink, a SEGA game center (with 3D bowling games), a luxury 5-star hotel, 22 movie screens, and 120 restaurants and cafes.
The mall also contains one of the largest aquariums in the world.
4. SM Mall of Asia (4.2 million square feet)
Manila Daily Photo / Flickr
Opened in 2006 in Metro Manila, Philippines, SM Mall of Asia consists of four buildings connected by walkways.
The mall also has an Olympic-size ice skating rink.
3. CentralWorld (4.62 million square feet)
UweBKK / Flickr
Opened in 1990, the eight-floor CentralWorld in Bangkok is Thailand’s largest shopping mall.
It marketed itself as a middle-class mall, as opposed to Siam Paragon, which was marketed by the upper class.
After months of repairs, the shopping complex reopened on September 28 with 80% of the retail space.
2. Golden Resources Mall (6.0 million square feet)
star5112 / Flickr
Golden Resources Mall in China, 1.5 times the size of Mall of America, was the world’s largest shopping mall from 2004 to 2005.
Another hurdle was that the Golden Resources Mall was out of the heart of Beijing, so it could not reach foreign consumers.
1. New South China Mall (6.46 million square feet)
Remko Meet / Flickr
The New South China Mall in Dongguan, China, is the world’s largest shopping mall by gross leasable area.
The only occupied areas of the mall are near the entrance where several Western fast food chains are located.
It has been called the world’s largest ghost mall.