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The developer-centric analytics firm RedMonk releases its biannual rankings of programming language popularity. This week, the team also published a useful chart illustrating how the top 20 languages have shifted since 2012. Their latest standings for programming language popularity are as follows:
- JavaScript
- Python
- Java
- PHP
- C#
- TypeScript
- CSS
- C++
- Ruby
- C
The chart reveals that rankings have stayed relatively stable over the years—aside from noticeable gains for TypeScript and Python, and a gradual slide for Ruby. JavaScript has held the top position consistently (with the exception of a couple of early rankings where it trailed Java).
In 2020, Java slipped from #2 to #3 as Python surged ahead. Python had already surpassed PHP in 2017, nudging PHP into a consistent #4. C# has retained the #5 spot since 2014, though it’s faced ongoing competition from both C++ and CSS. Since 2021, the following four positions have regularly included Ruby, C, Swift, and R.
The only change in the current top 20 compared to the previous edition is, as RedMonk co-founder Stephen O’Grady explains, “Dart dropping from a tie with Rust at 19 into sole possession of 20.” He adds, “In the 15 years we’ve been compiling these rankings, this is the least amount of movement we’ve ever seen in the top 20. While some of this reflects a general slowdown that’s set in during recent years, the extreme lack of change is also likely a symptom of Stack Overflow’s declining query volume.”
The influence of AI has had a notable and growing impact on Stack Overflow, which contributes half of the dataset used for RedMonk’s rankings. Its diminishing role in developer interactions has started to affect how language trends are tracked. “Stack Overflow’s observational value isn’t what it used to be—and that matters,” O’Grady notes.
As the platform hosts fewer new questions, its ability to reflect shifting interests weakens, making it a less volatile and less predictive data source. “We haven’t retired Stack Overflow’s input in our methodology yet,” the firm says, “but those internal discussions have certainly begun.”
RedMonk’s research director also weighed in: “The reliability of Stack Overflow data is increasingly up for debate. When we assess languages using Stack Overflow, we count the number of questions tagged with each language. While some reports such as Matt Asay’s AI didn’t kill Stack Overflow accurately note that its decline predates AI tools, there’s no doubt that usage fell sharply after ChatGPT’s rise in 2023. Question volume now sits at about 10% of what it once was at the platform’s peak.”
The research director concludes, “RedMonk is still assessing the value of this approach. Long-term trendlines remain informative, and decade-long movements are worth observing. But right now, half the dataset behind these rankings is growing increasingly outdated, and unfortunately, there’s no public alternative to replace it just yet.”
“We’ll continue monitoring and sharing what we learn from Stack Overflow’s data trajectory.”
