There are 47 Million Developers in the World

As of the beginning of 2025, the estimated global developer population is over 47 million, according to a market research study by SlashData.

The number of professional developers increased from 21.8 million to 36.5 million, whereas the amateur developer population declined by over 1 million in the last year.

That’s 50% more software developers than in Q1 2022. The growth rate has varied, with a 15% increase from 2022 to 2023 and a 21% spike from 2023 to 2024, attributed to post-pandemic investments and demand for digital services.

However, growth has decelerated to 10% in the last 12 months, indicating a shift towards a plateau in the developer ecosystem.

The population estimates are derived using SlashData’s independent bottom-up methodology, which is based on reliable measurements from various sources. Data sources include the number of GitHub and Stack Overflow accounts, along with employment statistics from the USA and the European Union.

The methodology also incorporates data from their global developer survey, which has run 29 waves and reached over 10,000 developers globally in each wave, said Costas Korakitis, the director of research at SlashData.

Professional and Amateur Developers

The professional developer population has grown significantly by 70% from 2022 to 2025, while the amateur developer segment has begun to contract. The number of professional developers has increased from 21.8 million to 36.5 million, while the amateur developer population experienced a decline of over 1 million in the last year.

This trend indicates that professionals remain in the field longer, while the traditional entry-level population is shrinking.

Developer Population is Ageing

The demographic profile of developers is gradually aging, with a decline in the percentage of developers aged 18 to 24 from 33% in early 2022 to 23% in early 2025.

At the same time, the share of developers aged 35 to 44 has increased from 22% to 26% during the same period.

Western Europe and North America continue to dominate the global developer population, each with approximately 9.5 million developers. However, significant growth is happening in other regions, particularly in South Asia, which has nearly doubled its developer population from 4 million in 2022 to 7.5 million in 2025.

Greater China has experienced explosive growth, tripling its developer population from 2.4 million to 5.8 million, driven by investments in education and local platforms. South America has also seen growth, increasing from 1.7 million to 3.4 million developers, with countries like Brazil and Argentina emerging as tech outsourcing hubs.

More Backend and AI, Less Mobile Developers

Web development remains the most popular application area, with over 23 million developers engaged in front-end and back-end applications.

Backend services and data science/ML/AI applications are also significant focus areas for developers. At the same time, emerging sectors include the development of applications for third-party ecosystems and embedded software, which have experienced substantial growth since 2022.

Mobile app development and desktop applications have declined, possibly due to market saturation and rising acquisition costs.

28 million JavaScript Developers

JavaScript remains the most widely used programming language, with around 28 million users, followed closely by Java and Python, each with approximately 23 million users. Rust has emerged as the fastest-growing language, more than doubling its user base since 2022, driven by its focus on safety and performance.

Developer preferences are diversifying, with many using multiple languages depending on project requirements, indicating a shift towards selecting the right tools for specific tasks.