We all know that javascript and C# are incredibly popular programming languages.
So too are php and java.
But you might be surprised (or maybe not that surprised) to learn that the crown of the fastest growing programming language actually belongs to Python.
According to the-people-in-the-know at Stack Overflow, Python has overtaken Javascript and Java in popularity. Their website attracts an audience of more than 40 million visitors a month, of which more than 40% are professional developers or university level students. They awarded Python’s increase in popularity based on the growing percentage of visits to pages containing questions with a Python tag.
In early 2018, IEEE Spectrum also ranked Python as the top programming language, ahead of C, Java, C++, C#, R, JavaScript PHP, Google’s Go, and Apple’s Swift.
Plus, in Stack Overflow’s 2017 developer survey, Python ranked highly and was reported as the top language respondents wanted to learn.
With a 27% year-over year-growth rate, Python stands alone as a tag that is both large and growing rapidly. It is also accelerating. Its year-over-year growth has become faster each year since 2013.
The Python Software Foundation attributes Python’s growing popularity to its versatility. It is widely used across a range of areas including web development, deployment, system operations, and scientific modeling. Python is easy to learn, runs on any platform and is constantly improving.
With Python, there really are no limits.

What does Python’s popularity mean for you?  

If you’re looking to build out your development team and are wondering what languages you should look for in your new hire’s skill sets, then Python is a very strong bet. You should always be trying to focus on building your team up with the set of tools that are going to be the most versatile and future proof. The consistency of Python’s rise in popularity over the last five years and its current trajectory makes it very hard to bet against.
Are you looking for a Python expert for your team? Get in contact with one of our specialist consultants here.
If you’re already a proficient user of Python, you’ve definitely made a strong choice with which language to develop your skills in. If you’re thinking about learning a new language or expanding the number of languages you code in, Python looks to be a solid choice. Its popularity is only continuing to increase.
Want to put your skills to good use? Check out our current job vacancies here.
Or download our latest The 6 most in-demand tech roles in Australia and the high salaries they’re commanding eBook and find out what salary you could be commanding.

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