Python is expected to claim the coveted Tiobe Programming Language of the Year title for 2024, having seen the largest rating increase on Tiobe’s language popularity index this year. The language’s remarkable rise in popularity has propelled it to the top of the rankings, where it currently holds the title of the most popular programming language overall. This growth highlights Python’s continued dominance in the programming landscape, especially within the fields of AI and data science.
While Tiobe won’t officially announce the winner until January, Python’s impressive 10% increase in ratings throughout 2024 puts it ahead of all other contenders. The next closest languages, Java and JavaScript, saw more modest increases, with Java growing by 1.73% and JavaScript by 1.72%. These figures suggest a clear gap in growth rates, reinforcing Python’s strong position in the market.
This would mark Python’s third win of the Tiobe Language of the Year award, following its victories in 2020 and 2021. The past two years have seen C++ and C# take the crown, respectively. Despite some industry speculation that the AI bubble may be about to burst, Tiobe CEO Paul Jansen remains confident in Python’s future. He attributes Python’s dominance to its extensive library support, its ease of learning, and its deep integration with AI and data mining tools. However, Jansen notes that the growing demand for faster programming languages could eventually lead to Python reaching a plateau.
Tiobe measures language popularity by evaluating the number of skilled engineers worldwide, available courses, and third-party support, among other factors. These ratings are derived from analyzing web traffic across popular search engines and sites such as Google, Bing, and Wikipedia, providing a broad view of each language’s usage and growth across different sectors.