Top 10 Programming Languages

Non-existing before programming languages based on those popular ones seem to occur and gain popularity every month or two. And even though it might be hard to keep track of those newly emerging ones, several languages remain relevant and in extremely high demand for years. Among the existing languages, the one considered to be the most-used coding language can be relatively new. At the same time, the others have been around for more than a decade but managed to remain relevant.

So the question remains: which ones can be evaluated as the most demanded languages for software development?

Indeed suggests 5 top languages master in: Python, JavaScript, Java, C and Ruby. Besides, here you may check how high are the salary opportunities in the United States per each of them.

And which of them are likely to retain their status in the near future? The following list collects ten most popular programming languages from this year.

Python

Python is the old-timer on this list because this top programming language has been around for longer than a decade. While some might say Python is irrelevant for the top 10 programming languages, this statement would be as far from the truth as it gets. This open-source language is used to bridge the gaps between the components of larger software products. It is also a popular language because of the versatility it offers. That is why Python is one of the top used programming languages.

We may see such tendency of Python popularity in 2020:

But for 2021 we have new tendencies and Pythons popularity decreased a bit:

Java

This one is yet another veteran on the list of the most-used programming languages, but now, this one is actually a 24-year-old language. Even though for some individuals, it is not simple to imagine something invented 24 years ago being relevant in such a dynamic industry, Java is still one of the most in-demand programming languages. This is also a highly versatile option that is applicable to almost anything, including both game and app development.

As we can see worldwide trends, Java has become a lot more popular till 2021:

JavaScript

Javascript is a follow-up to Java that also makes it on the list of the most popular programming languages. This is a perfect language for web applications since it is not applicable to stand-alone applications but rather web apps that run in a browser. This is one of the top in demand programming languages for web development.

Tendencies of JavaScript in 2021 are quite the same as the previous year:

C/C++/C#

C and C++/C# are like the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the high demand programming languages. This class of three languages is the iconic trio of the most important programming languages. With C being the oldest and the other two coming after it, the three are quite diverse in what they provide and often reach the top of the highest-paid programming languages. Used in almost any sphere of software development, these three languages are great assembly languages to learn.

For the year 2021 C programming language keeps its high positions worldwide:

Ruby

Ruby is a coding language that has a fairly general purpose: it has reserved a position on the list of the most popular coding languages as well. This one was developed in Japan back in the ‘90s, but still remains popular around the world. Designed with a goal to make the language as comprehensive as possible, Ruby was one of the most rapidly growing languages back in its early years. It still remains popular more than 20 years after its invention, and the most prominent advantage of this language is its simplicity.

In comparison to the previous year, the popularity of the Ruby programming language in 2021 is a bit higher:

Go

Go is one of the most in demand programming languages due to its potential for machine learning. Developed by Google, Go is similar to C, but it is also capable of collecting garbage, structural typing, and memory protection. This basically makes Go a really smart but complicated language. This is probably the most popular language for Android developers, so it is one of the leaders in programming language popularity. Go is a young language, but it is quickly becoming one of the top programming languages. Most young developers aim at GO because of the employment potential it provides and the pathways it opens for career growth.

Go programming language kept its high positions through the first 6 months of the previous year but the decrease in 2021 is remarkable:

PHP

PHP, similarly to the other listed languages, is one of the most common programming languages among those for web development. As the annual developer survey shows, nearly one-third of the entire web is powered by PHP. This easily makes PHP one of the top coding languages when it comes to web programming. Of all the existing programming languages, PHP is probably one of the most web-oriented. This makes this language popular for web design, and though it has a rather controversial reputation among the developers, knowing this language will certainly help in getting a decent job.

In 2021 PHP takes back its popularity, we can see a growth of this programming language worldwide:

HTML

HTML, or its latest version HTML 5, is the most basic markup language that is best suited for developing the documents to be displayed on web sites. Like some of the other most popular programming languages, this one is an old-timer with its history reaching back to the 1980s. Web browsers use HTML to interpret visual and audio materials into the web pages familiar to general users. Basically, it makes the websites look like comprehensive pages the users can view, which makes up for the popularity of programming languages like HTML.

In 2021 we see as HTML keeps its strong positions of programming languages popularity:

Kotlin

Kotlin is a relatively new programming language that aims at addressing the issues of other programming languages, like Java for example. Basically, Kotlin was designed as a patch to Java. While it is certainly not one of the best-paid programming languages, it has a potential for growth and improvement. Maybe, in the future, it will be fully incorporated into Java to meet the needs of the programmers.

As we may see, in 2021 Kotlin also keeps its strong positions between other programming languages:

PERL

PERL, also written as Perl, is yet another language that came from the ‘80s and still rolls as one of the most popular programming languages. It borrows the leading features of some other languages, such as C and BASIC, and creates something new. It is also made for general use which develops along with the rest of the languages, and the combination makes it one of the most dynamic languages in the industry. PERL accounts for all the changes that happen in other languages to appear as a fully compatible one with other popular coding languages.

The growing popularity of PERL keeps it in the high positions:

Also, we may analyze the popularity of programming languages with the TIOBE index data table with 2021 update:

Also, Tiobe made a possibility to widen knowledge about the popularity of programming languages within position 21-50:

Also with Tiobe data, we may evaluate how the top 10 programming languages changed through the years starting from 1986. As we can see, C, C++, and C# do keep their positions strong. Python and JavaScript, the 90s' kids, do not lose popularity for a very long time.

Salaries

A lot of programming languages are associated with established high salary, not only in the US, but worldwide:

Source: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2019#salary

When we evaluate the salaries of software developers in the United States, we may see that the average annual salary of developers depending on the type varies from 99.000$ per year up to 116.000$. The most profitable development professions are Engineering manager, DevOps and Data Scientists:

Industries

Different industries have their own demand for developers who are working outside the IT sector. Professional developers mostly work on software development issues in the IT and finance/banking industry. Talking about the ones with more years of coding experience, we may emphasize the choice of employment outside the technology industry. The most popular industries for skilled professionals are consulting, government, nonprofits and SaaS due to the survey data.

Skills and Technologies

Each programming language requires wide technology and skills usage. According to Indeed, top of the best-paid skills and qualifications for Software Engineers is Scala. This skill may increase your salary up to 24% in comparison to the average base salary. Also, the most paid skills are Deep learning, Machine learning, Big Data, and OS Kernels.

Among top paid fields of study are Mechanical Engineering Degree, which may up your salary by 36%; Engineering Management Degree, which is the best paid, but with low demand on the job market (only 2 jobs were found in the US database); Business Information Systems Degree, which helps to gain more than 60% higher salary, but also is not one of the most demanded ones (only 14 jobs in the US were found on Indeed).

According to Stackoverflow's new survey, we have new top 20 paid programming languages, represented by Perl, Scala, Go, Rust, and Ruby in the top 5.

Source: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020

When we talk about technologies, its hard to point out only one, as they are connected into clustered ecosystems with multiple databases, frameworks, languages, and platforms:

Source: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2019#technology-_-how-technologies-are-connected

Also, new Stackoverlows survey has remarked top frameworks, tools and libraries analyzed worldwide:

Source: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020

Job Market

According to Stackoverlows 2020 survey data, on the worldwide job market, the highest demand is for Python, JavaScript, Go, TypeScript, Rust, Kotlin, Java, C++, SQL, C#.

Source: https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2020

Wrap Up

So, what is the most popular programming language? Well, that depends on what is in development. Each area of software or web development has its own programming languages, each of which has its applications. Every programming language among those listed has both its flaws and advantages over the other. Hopefully, this list of the most popular programming languages helps to define what languages are the most popular in particular areas in the field.

The knowledge of the programming languages is critical, and the more of them a developer knows, the easier it becomes for the person to find a well-paid job. The true value of the developer is in versatility and ability to learn, so it is best to be proficient in different languages as opposed to mastering only one. Besides, some of them intertwine, making it easier to learn new ones. That is why a good programmer must strive for knowledge at all times and learn new programming languages to stay a demanded professional.