The State of Developer Ecosystem 2022

These are the results of the sixth annual survey conducted by JetBrains to capture the landscape of the developer community.

This report has been created based on the responses of 29,269 developers from around the world who participated in our study in May–July 2022.

It covers a wide range of topics, including programming languages, tools, technologies, demographics, and even fun facts, as well as the lifestyle of developers.

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Key Takeaways

75%

of the coding community is involved in web development, while 66% involved in backend web development.

Python, the second most popular programming language, has continued to strengthen its position. As a primary language, it outperformed Java and has closed the gap with JavaScript.

According to the community, AI/ML is the most promising technology, and Rust is the most promising programming language.

One out of every two developers is planning to adopt a new language. The top choices for next languages are Go, Rust, Kotlin, TypeScript, and Python.

The most widespread programming language in the world is JavaScript.

TypeScript is the fastest-growing programming language.

The most favorite programming languages are Kotlin, C#, Python, Rust, and Java.

The least favorite programming languages are Perl, Visual Basic, Delphi, and C.

Programming languages

65%

3%

JavaScript

55%

1%

HTML / CSS

53%

7%

Python

49%

3%

SQL

48%

3%

Java

Half of all developers surveyed are planning to adopt a new programming language. The two most popular choices for next languages are Go and Rust, followed by Kotlin, TypeScript, and Python.

Which programming languages have you used in the last 12 months?

0%20%40%60%80%

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

JavaScriptHTML / CSSPythonSQLJavaTypeScriptShellC++C#PHPCGoKotlinRustSwiftRubyObjective-CScala

In 2021, the survey attracted a disproportionately high share of PHP and Laravel developers. You can find more information about the reasons for this aberration in the Methodology section.

The programming languages that are showing a downward trend include PHP, Ruby, Objective-C, and Scala.

Which programming languages have you used in the last 12 months?

201720182019202020212022
65%64%69%70%69%65%JavaScript
60%55%61%61%60%54%HTML / CSS
47%51%50%54%49%48%Java
42%47%56%56%54%49%SQL
32%41%49%55%52%53%Python
30%26%29%27%32%20%PHP
20%22%24%22%21%23%C#
17%18%20%27%23%25%C++
15%16%17%23%19%20%C
12%17%25%28%29%34%TypeScript
10%8%11%8%6%5%Ruby
9%8%11%9%7%7%Swift
8%12%18%19%17%19%Go
7%5%6%4%3%3%Objective-C
7%5%6%5%3%3%Scala
2%9%16%17%14%16%Kotlin
2%5%7%6%9%Rust
29%40%39%37%34%Shell
070%

The most popular programming language, JavaScript, is used by 65% of developers in one way or another. It is also the most popular primary language, with a share of 34%.

TypeScript’s share has almost tripled over the course of 6 years, increasing from 12% in 2017 to 34% in 2022.

Will it eventually replace JavaScript? Though it is rapidly catching up to JavaScript, the usage of JavaScript remains stable high. 92% of TypeScript developers use JavaScript, with 40% choosing it as one of their primary languages.

What are your primary programming languages?

Choose no more than three languages.

33%

JavaScript

32%

Python

31%

Java

20%

HTML / CSS

18%

TypeScript

17%

SQL

14%

C#

12%

C++

Python has been growing in popularity, and with a share of 55%, it is now the second most used language, after JavaScript. More than half of all developers in the world are using it.

Python is also growing as a primary programming language and is catching up to JavaScript. Only one percentage point separates them, with Python at 33% and JavaScript at 34%!

Favorite programming language

20%

Python

16%

Java

9%

JavaScript

9%

C#

7%

Kotlin

6%

TypeScript

6%

PHP

5%

C++

44%

Kotlin

39%

C#

38%

Python

36%

Rust

34%

Java

30%

Scala

29%

PHP

27%

Go

The five most favorite programming languages are Python, Java, JavaScript, C#, and Kotlin!

When we consider these preferences relative to number of people using the languages, however, the leaders are Kotlin, C#, Python, Rust, Java.

Least favorite programming language

16%

JavaScript

15%

Java

10%

C

10%

PHP

7%

C++

6%

Python

3%

C#

3%

CSS/HTML

96%

Perl

77%

Visual Basic

60%

Delphi

51%

C

48%

PHP

39%

Assembly

32%

Java

32%

Ruby

The five most disliked programming languages are JavaScript, Java, PHP, C and C++.

JavaScript and Java are very controversial, as they are on top of the lists for both favorite and least favorite languages.

But if we calculate the least favorite language relative to the number of people using it, there is an absolute champion as the most dreaded language. Perl’s share is a whopping 96%, followed by Visual Basic with 77%, Delphi with 60%, and C with 51%.

Primary programming languages by age

18–2021–2930–3940–4950–5960 or older
24%38%13%9%1%16%Assembly
24%39%18%9%5%5%C
8%36%31%18%6%2%C#
18%44%20%10%5%3%C++
4%34%26%24%12%0%Clojure / ClojureScript
3%9%38%12%36%3%COBOL
14%53%21%10%3%0%Dart
2%14%22%39%15%9%Delphi
2%37%40%13%7%0%Elixir
10%25%34%22%5%4%F#
5%50%31%9%4%1%Go
2%43%34%15%5%0%GraphQL
1%33%42%17%6%2%Groovy
22%39%30%8%1%Haskell
13%46%26%10%3%1%HTML / CSS
11%46%28%11%3%1%Java
10%46%28%11%4%1%JavaScript
7%34%27%17%13%2%Julia
9%45%32%10%3%1%Kotlin
20%48%18%14%0%Lua
19%56%13%10%2%MATLAB
0%44%30%10%14%2%Objective-C
2%14%30%28%12%14%Perl
6%38%34%16%5%1%PHP
4%39%39%11%5%1%Platform tied language (Apex, ABAP, 1C)
15%45%23%10%5%2%Python
15%48%22%4%10%0%R
1%28%39%23%7%1%Ruby
18%44%24%11%2%1%Rust
3%41%33%17%5%1%Scala
5%38%31%16%7%2%Shell scripting languages
5%43%30%15%6%2%SQL
6%35%34%14%8%3%Swift
8%48%31%10%3%0%TypeScript
3%22%22%23%22%9%Visual Basic
10%31%27%11%7%13%Other
0%56%

The languages with the highest share among the youngest respondents (18–20) are Assembly, C, C++, Haskell, Lua, MatLab, and Rust. This is perhaps unsurprising, as these languages are often taught in universities.

The languages with relatively high shares among older developers are COBOL, Assembly, CoffeeScript, Perl, Delphi, and Visual Basic. With the exception of Assembly, these languages have low shares among developers younger than 30.

There is also a low amount of interest in Ruby among young developers.

Types of development

In which kinds of activities are you involved?

92%

Coding / Programming

53%

Code Reviewing

43%

Testing

38%

System Design

35%

Deployment

26%

Infrastructure Development / DevOps

17%

System Administration

14%

Academic Research

13%

Data Analysis

12%

Technical Writing

11%

Teaching Programming

For which platforms do you develop?

66%

Web (Back-end)

53%

Web (Front-end)

32%

Desktop

28%

Mobile

27%

Server / Infrastructure

18%

Cloud

8%

IoT / Embedded

4%

I don't develop anything

2%

WebAssembly

1%

Consoles

1%

Other

Which platforms do you target with your projects?

This question was only shown to respondents who develop for desktop.

86%

Windows

56%

Linux

39%

macOS

9%

Other

What types of software do you develop?

54%

Websites

36%

Utilities

27%

Database / Data Storage

23%

System Software

22%

Libraries / Frameworks

19%

IT Infrastructure

16%

Finance

The youngest survey respondents primarily work on game development and entertainment software.

What types of software do you develop with your main languages?

JavaScriptPythonJavaTypeScriptSQLC#C++PHPGoKotlin
79%28%38%75%43%36%3%81%33%18%Websites
23%39%21%23%16%34%20%24%30%37%Utilities (small apps for small tasks)
12%9%21%15%19%16%6%12%11%19%Finance
12%15%21%12%16%23%28%17%24%15%System Software
10%17%18%20%6%22%23%17%23%27%Libraries / Frameworks
8%6%8%9%4%8%9%6%8%19%Entertainment
7%20%19%6%50%21%8%23%20%11%Database / Data Storage
7%16%10%10%4%13%15%9%17%14%Programming Tools
6%15%14%7%8%13%12%9%30%10%IT Infrastructure
4%31%7%4%15%8%7%4%5%6%Business Intelligence / Data Science / Machine Learning
4%5%6%3%2%22%24%2%2%8%Games
3%3%2%3%1%1%2%1%6%3%Blockchain
3%7%2%2%1%3%6%2%3%4%Home Automation
2%6%5%2%2%5%6%3%10%3%Security
1%1%1%1%0%6%6%0%0%1%Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality
0%3%1%0%0%2%16%0%3%1%Hardware
3%5%4%3%3%4%5%2%3%7%Other
0%81%

This year, we asked respondents to match their primary programming language with the software types and platforms they use it for. This provided a more accurate picture of the most popular use cases for various languages than last year’s report, where we just made a cross table with the three primary programming languages.

Platforms by language

JavaScriptPythonJavaTypeScriptSQLC#C++PHPGoKotlin
85%10%10%87%8%17%2%23%4%6%Web (Front-end)
35%54%73%39%81%62%11%93%76%39%Web (Back-end)
20%5%18%21%8%20%11%8%4%63%Mobile
16%35%21%13%21%53%59%9%11%14%Desktop
8%22%14%10%14%18%6%6%27%8%Cloud
5%28%21%9%21%19%27%13%47%15%Server / Infrastructure
2%8%2%1%2%4%23%1%5%2%IoT / Embedded
1%0%0%1%0%5%1%0%2%0%WebAssembly
0%0%0%0%0%4%6%0%0%0%Consoles (Xbox / PlayStation / Nintendo etc.)
3%7%2%2%3%3%5%1%2%4%Other
0%93%

Technologies

Which technologies do you find promising?

Based on answers to a free-response question.

14%

AI/ML

13%

Rust

11%

JavaScript and its frameworks

9%

Go

8%

Kotlin

6%

Blockchain

6%

Python

6%

WebAssembly

* No specific technology was mentioned.

The largest share of developers identified AI / ML as the most promising technology. In addition to programming languages, respondents also mentioned Blockchain, WebAssembly, Flutter, AR / VR, and Cloud technologies.

On which operating systems are your development environments?

61%

Windows

46%

macOS

45%

Linux

1%

Other

Do you use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) for local development?

59%

No, I don’t use it

24%

I work with tools installed in WSL

21%

I work with the project and tools located in WSL

17%

I run my application in WSL

2%

Other

This question was shown to all respondents who use Windows as their operating system.

Which devices do you use for development?

85%

Laptop

54%

Desktop

9%

Smartphone

4%

Tablet

1%

Chromebook or similar device

1%

Other

The responses indicate that developers appreciate mobility. 85% of developers use laptops for coding, and 39% use laptops and desktops simultaneously.

9% of the respondents claimed to code with a smartphone, with 65% of them developing for mobile!

What kinds of plugins do you install with your IDE or editor?

67%

Tools integration

57%

Framework integration

55%

Custom language support

55%

UI themes and add-ons

7%

I don’t install plugins

3%

Other

More than a half of developers (55%) install UI themes and add-ons for their IDEs or editors.

Salary

What is your annual net (after tax) salary in USD, excluding any bonuses?

28%

Don’t want to disclose

2%

Up to $1,000

2%

Up to $1,800

4%

Up to $6,000

5%

Up to $12,000

6%

Up to $18,000

7%

Up to $24,000

11%

Up to $36,000

7%

Up to $48,000

8%

Up to $60,000

7%

Up to $84,000

6%

Up to $120,000

4%

Up to $180,000

2%

More than $180,000

How satisfied are you with your salary?

7%

Completely satisfied

21%

Mostly satisfied

29%

Rather satisfied

18%

Rather dissatisfied

7%

Mostly dissatisfied

5%

Completely dissatisfied

14%

Prefer not to answer

57%

of developers are satisfied with their salary to some extent.

Salary satisfaction by annual net (after tax) salary in USD

Completely satisfiedMostly satisfiedRather satisfiedRather dissatisfiedMostly dissatisfiedCompletely dissatisfiedPrefer not to answer
7%12%18%23%14%19%7%Up to $1,000
3%16%22%20%19%16%4%Up to $1,800
2%12%24%32%17%10%2%Up to $6,000
2%18%31%25%13%9%3%Up to $12,000
3%13%35%31%12%4%2%Up to $18,000
3%18%34%28%10%5%2%Up to $24,000
4%19%39%25%9%3%1%Up to $36,000
4%28%38%20%6%3%1%Up to $48,000
6%29%36%19%7%2%1%Up to $60,000
9%37%36%13%3%1%0%Up to $84,000
16%39%29%11%4%1%1%Up to $120,000
19%45%24%8%1%1%1%Up to $180,000
27%44%17%8%2%1%1%More than $180,000
0%45%

Median value of annual net (after tax) salary in USD, excluding any bonuses

By regions

102000

United States

72000

Canada

54000

United Kingdom

42000

Germany

42000

Northern Europe and Benelux

42000

South Korea

27000

China

Share of top-paid employees by job role

60%

CIO / CEO / CTO

55%

Architect

51%

Team Lead

47%

Developer Advocate

41%

DevOps Engineer / Infrastructure Developer

39%

Systems Analyst

36%

Data Analyst / Data Engineer/ Data Scientist

Top-paid employees are considered to be those whose salary belongs to the top 25% highest salaries among respondents in their country.

Share of top-paid employees by primary language

50%

Go

47%

Ruby

41%

C++

39%

Kotlin

38%

Rust

37%

Shell scripting languages

35%

Swift

Gender and development

Gender

91%

Male

5%

Female

2%

Prefer not to say

1%

Non-binary, genderqueer, or gender non-conforming

In charts below the “Other” option includes “non-binary, “genderqueer, or gender non-conforming”, as well as the “Other, please specify” and “Prefer not to say” options. The sample size of this group is too small, however, for reliable conclusions to be drawn from it.

Gender distribution by region

MaleFemaleOther
85%13%1%South Korea
88%11%1%Argentina
89%8%3%Canada
91%8%1%Latin America
91%8%1%Turkey
91%8%1%Africa, Middle East, Central Asia
88%7%5%United States
93%6%1%Brazil
90%6%3%Other South-East Asia and Oceania
92%6%2%Russian Federation
94%6%1%Mexico
93%5%2%Spain
93%5%2%Eastern Europe, Balkans and the Caucasus
93%5%3%India
93%5%3%France
93%4%2%Other Europe
92%4%4%Northern Europe and Benelux
91%4%5%United Kingdom
93%4%4%Germany
93%3%4%Japan
93%3%4%China
97%2%1%Ukraine
1%97%

South Korea and Argentina had the largest shares of women.

The types of software development with the largest shares of women are augmented reality / virtual reality, websites, and business intelligence / data science / machine learning.

Professional coding experience by gender

MaleFemaleOther
83%12%5%I don't have any professional coding experience
85%11%4%Less than 1 year
89%7%4%1–2 years
92%5%3%3–5 years
93%4%3%6–10 years
96%2%2%11–16 years
95%2%3%16+ years
2%96%

Though diversity remains low in the tech industry, it is trending upwards.

Gender by age

MaleFemaleOther
88%7%5%18–20
90%6%4%21–29
93%5%2%30–39
95%3%2%40–49
93%4%3%50–59
94%3%3%60 or older
2%95%

Primary languages by gender

MaleFemaleOther
62%38%I don't use programming languages
77%23%0%CoffeeScript
80%13%6%R
89%9%3%HTML / CSS
90%7%3%C
93%6%1%Perl
85%6%9%Lua
92%6%3%SQL
91%6%3%MATLAB
93%6%1%Platform tied language (Apex, ABAP, 1C)
94%5%1%Visual Basic
92%5%3%JavaScript
91%5%4%Python
95%5%COBOL
91%5%4%C++
93%5%3%Java
93%4%2%GraphQL
93%4%3%Groovy
90%4%6%Shell scripting languages
92%4%3%Assembly
89%4%7%Objective-C
91%4%6%Julia
93%4%3%C#
94%4%3%TypeScript
92%3%5%Swift
95%3%2%Clojure / ClojureScript
94%3%2%PHP
95%3%1%Ruby
84%3%12%F#
94%3%3%Kotlin
94%3%3%Elixir
91%2%7%Rust
91%2%8%Scala
96%2%3%Dart
96%1%3%Haskell
96%1%3%Go
95%1%4%Delphi
88%5%7%Other
0%96%

Migration

Were you born in the country / region where you currently live?

About 10% of developers have moved to live in another country.

Which year did you start living in the country/region you currently live?

7%

2022

6%

2021

4%

2020

7%

2019

7%

2018

6%

2017

5%

2016

We see that migration among developers has generally been increasing, especially since 2015. It dropped in 2020 presumably due to the pandemic, and in 2022 it recovered to the levels seen in 2019.

Emigration

49%

29%

Ukraine

22%

12%

Russian Federation

18%

18%

Eastern Europe, Balkans and the Caucasus

15%

14%

Latin America

15%

14%

Turkey

Emigration rate = The number of people who were born in one country or region but work in a different one / the total number of people born in the country or region of origin.

Immigration

30%

29%

Canada

24%

23%

United Kingdom

22%

22%

Northern Europe and Benelux

18%

19%

Other Europe

17%

17%

United States

Immigration rate = The number of people working in a country or region who were born in a different region / the total number of people working in the destination country or region.

Languages

Which language do you mainly use at work?

67%

English

20%

Chinese

11%

Japanese

5%

German

5%

Spanish

5%

Hindi

4%

Russian

4%

French

This question was only shown to respondents who use different languages at home and at work.

Team Leads and Senior Developers are more likely to use English at work while speaking other languages at home or with friends.

Do you speak at home or with friends in the same language as you use at work?

What languages do you use with family and friends?

15%

English

14%

Chinese

13%

Hindi

9%

Spanish

8%

Russian

5%

Portuguese

4%

German

3%

Arabic

This question was only shown to respondents who use different languages at home and at work.

Out of that 13% who do not speak the same language at home as they do with their colleagues, the three languages most commonly spoken with family and friends were English, Chinese, and Hindi.

Thank you for your time!

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