70+ Software Development Statistics: Market Trends and Insights

Quick Overview: As we navigate through the digital age, it's essential to understand the landscape of software development. This blog aims to provide a captivating overview of the latest software development statistics for the year 2024 that shed light on trends, practices, and the impact of this dynamic field.

No other industry is as fast-growing as software development. The rapid advancement of technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, IoT, and many more have significantly impacted many industries, including the software development sector. That’s the major reason the software development sector has been growing in recent times.

Transform Your Business with Cutting-edge Software Development Services Tailored to Your Specific Needs

Connect with Our Experts

In this digital era, software plays a pivotal role in enabling companies to create automation tools, reduce costs, and enhance customer experience, serving as the glue that binds these capabilities together. To showcase the sheer magnitude of this phenomenon, we've compiled essential software development statistics for 2024.

Let’s read it together!

Software Development Statistics [Editor’s Choice]

1) The worldwide population of software developers is expected to reach 28.7 million by the end of 2024. This is a straight rise of 3.2 million in a span of 4 years. There are almost 4.3 million software developers in the US.

2) 84.7% of software development projects are based on enterprise applications. 53.6% of software development projects are based on business automation, and 38.50% are eCommerce.

3) By 2024, the IT sector is expected to surpass its pre-pandemic position, boasting an estimated Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5%.

4) Software development market is expected to reach $1039 million by 2027 with a CAGR of $22.54% from 2020 to 2027.

5) Around 54% of software engineers claim to be more productive when they work from home. This would be a great matter of discussion in 2024 as the world moves towards the office culture again.

6) The cost of software development projects ranges from $3,000 to $150,000.

7) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system development costs around $30,000 - 200,000+ in 2024.

8) The employment of software developers in the US will grow 22% in the US alone by 2029 – so, the kickstart of 2024 would be a great opportunity for the US software developers.

9) The complex software development costs up to $1 million.

10) JavaScript is the most used programming language in the world, with 65.82% of professional developers hooting for it.

11) The median annual salary for experienced software developers is $107,090.

Software Development Market Overview

Do you know how huge the software development market is? What is the future of software development? Let’s address some of the most searched questions that revolve around the software development market as 2024 kicks off -

12) In the software industry, 84.70% of surveyed companies specialize in developing Enterprise Applications for clients.

13) 53.90% of participating companies take on software projects focused on business process automation, so be ready to experience the high side of business automation this 2024.

14) Approximately 15.40% of companies provide Customer Relationship Management software solutions.

15) 7.70% of software development services providers assist their clients in building, managing, and maintaining educational software.

16) 38.50% of the surveyed developers are involved in back-end software development and front-end web app development solutions for eCommerce owners.

Software Developer Demographic Statistics

17) Washington State boasts the highest-paid software engineers in the United States, earning an impressive $105,406 annually. Additionally, it leads with the highest percentage of engineers (6.42%) compared to any other state.

18) The average age of software developers in the US is 39.8 years old, and 54.2% of them are white.

19) Surprisingly, only 25% of software developers hold degrees in computer engineering or computer science.

20) The United States accounts for a significant 33% of the global tech market.

21) In Europe, Germany takes the lead with the highest number of software developers, boasting a remarkable 837,398 professionals.

22) 91.5% of software engineers worldwide are men.

23) Washington stands out as the state with the highest concentration of software development jobs in the US, boasting an impressive 51,540 positions.

Take the Next Step Towards Digital Innovation and Growth by Partnering with Our Team

Hire Our Experts

Software Development Industry Statistics

24) 33% of the global tech market is in the US.

Despite the vast size of the US tech and software market, a significant 67% of technology spending takes place overseas, indicating the global appeal and demand for tech products and services. Europe emerges as another major player, accounting for one-fifth of the total global tech spending. Meanwhile, China has rapidly risen and garnered a reputation as a dominant player in the offshore software development landscape.

2024 Key Industry Insights

• 2024 will see marketing software as the top priority investment with 28%, second to IT security (32%) for all the software buyers across the globe.

• Marketers rank finding new customers (35%) and upskilling employees (32%) as two of the top business challenges in the IT sector for 2024.

25) Asia Pacific is experiencing a rapid rise in the software testing market, projected to achieve an impressive 8% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) by 2026.

This growth is primarily driven by the increased adoption rates of digitalization in key countries like India and China. Notably, the Indian government is actively promoting schemes to incentivize investments and accelerate digitalization across the country. Additionally, India's focus on IT training has resulted in the country becoming the largest hub for software outsourcing, evident in the prevailing IT and software industry trends.

26) There are around 5.5 million developers in Europe.

In terms of the number of software developers by country, Germany takes the lead with a substantial workforce of 837,389 professionals in this field. The United Kingdom closely follows as the runner-up, boasting 813,500 developers, while France secures the third position with 467,454 skilled developers. On the other end of the spectrum, Hungary and Norway stand out with 79,075 and 79,112 developers, respectively, as evidenced by software development job statistics.

Software Development Trends and Statistics 2024

27) Software developer employment will grow 22% in the US alone by 2029.

There are almost 1.46 million software developers in the US, although this data varies based on the different criteria set by various organizations.

28) By 2025, the Internet of Things (IoT) is projected to encompass more than 75 billion devices worldwide, a staggering threefold increase from 2019.

As a cutting-edge software industry trend, IoT revolves around the seamless interconnectivity of computers in diverse machines and gadgets through the Internet. Its wide-ranging applications span various industries, including healthcare, and significantly contribute to the success of remote work organizations.

29) Approximately 80% of the world's top 500 companies leverage offshore teams for their daily operations, highlighting the widespread adoption of this practice.

India holds an esteemed position as the leading global destination for outsourcing software requirements. Although emerging markets in Asia and Latin America show growing demand for offshoring, countries like the Philippines are establishing themselves as significant offshoring hubs. Nevertheless, based on offshore software engineering statistics, India is unlikely to be surpassed anytime in 2024 due to its competitive prices, favorable IT policies, and exceptional services, solidifying its status as a top choice for offshoring.

30) Nearly 69% of businesses have embraced cloud computing technology.

Research indicates a growing momentum, with an additional 18% of companies planning to adopt cloud solutions. This trend in software development has led organizations to experience a remarkable 53% faster revenue growth which is bound to increase even more in 2024.

31) Approximately 84% of developers proudly identify themselves as active contributors to open-source software.

Open-source code, prevalent software development trends, allows engineers to actively participate by utilizing, modifying, and enhancing the source code. Impressively, only 3% of developers have never contributed, while another 13% contribute less than once per year, as supported by software development statistics 2024.

32) Linux has consistently maintained its status as the most favored software development platform worldwide, reigning as the top choice for 55.9% of professional developers.

While Linux's dominance remains unyielding, Windows has experienced a surge in popularity, with 51.2% of developers opting for it. With its robust open-source nature, Linux has been a driving force in software engineering for years, exemplified by its widespread use in Android phones and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

33) Python stands out as the fastest-growing programming language, with an impressive 70% of ML developers choosing it for their projects.

With over six million software engineers currently utilizing Python, its open-source nature has facilitated widespread adoption, particularly in the realm of machine learning. ML developers benefit from easy access to essential libraries like PyTorch, NumPy, and TensorFlow, while Python also excels in automating backend systems, as confirmed by software industry statistics. In terms of Java, though not the fastest-growing, it remains a strong contender, ranking as the third-largest programming language community with 9.4 million Java developers.

34) When it comes to software project management tools, JIRA emerges as the most commonly used option, capturing a significant 39.03% share.

In recent years, the majority of companies have embraced agile methodologies, leading them to seek effective project management solutions. Atlassian's comprehensive package, featuring Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket, stands firmly at the top with an 18.24% market share. Following closely is Microsoft Project with 6.01% and Airtable with 6.01%.

Unlock the Full Potential of Your Startup with Our Efficient Solutions

Opt for Software Development

Time and Cost of Software Development Statistics

35) On average, companies allocate 63% of their software development costs to designing and constructing new software.

36) Almost one in four companies prefer to choose software development outsourcing services for their projects. The primary reason is to reduce cost, flexibility, faster market time, and a vast pool of talent.

37) Satisfaction levels for outsourced development remain relatively low, with only 17.8% of companies reporting absolute satisfaction with the work delivered.

38) The typical software development project takes approximately 4.5 months to complete and costs $36,000.

39) About 23% of projects surpass the $60,000 mark in development costs.

40) Once the software is built, ongoing maintenance expenses amount to roughly 15% to 20% of the initial development cost.

41) Around 61.60% of development companies have established an average development time period of 4-6 months, while 10.81% of software firms deliver refined software maintenance and support, taking more than 6 months.

42) 10.81% of the software development companies deliver the finest software with maintenance and support, in a time span of more than 6 months.

43) Software development costs for a small software or app are $30,000 to $45,000. The medium-sized software development project costs from $70,000 to $100,000, and for a large-scale complex application, $100,000 or more.

44) CMS software development costs anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 for a basic platform with design, a few custom features, configuration, etc.

45) ERP software development costs $100,000 or more, depending on the number of features and size of the company.

46) Software development costs for a custom eCommerce system built from scratch start at $50,000. It goes up to hundreds of thousands of dollars for more complex solutions.

47) SaaS development costs from $25,000 to $100,000, and even more for complex SaaS products.

Statistics of Technologies Used in Software Development

In the software development industry, there are more than 700 programming languages to choose from. Hence, while choosing the right programming language, businesses and software developers must consider many project aspects.

In this section, we are going to cover the most popular software development technologies and tools used.

48) A report states that JavaScript is the most popular programming language to learn in 2024, with 22.5 million developers around the world.

49) The second programming language is Python, with 9 million active developers.

50) Java comes in third place, with 8.2 million developers.

51) AWS (49%) and Microsoft Azure stand as par as the most popular and used cloud platform in 2024, with 75% of developers usage. This indicates a better market prospective in 2025 for hyperscalers and their enterprise public cloud adoption on a global level.

52) Microsoft Azure is the second most used cloud platform, with 45%.

53) Google Cloud is the third most used cloud platform, with 21%.

Software Development Programming Statistics

In this section, we are going to cover the facts and data surrounding software development programming. Let’s understand it well.

54) The average age of a software engineer is 39 years.

55) Software engineers are 50% more likely to work at private companies than public sector companies.

56) There are 22% of female software engineers, while 78% are male.

57) 48.5% of software engineers are White, followed by Asian – 34%, Hispanic or Latino – 8.1%, and Unknown – 48.%.

58) Approximately 8% of all software engineers identify as LGBT.

59) An overwhelming 97% of applications make use of open-source code, reflecting its widespread adoption in the software development community.

60) GitHub, a popular internet hosting service for software development, boasts an impressive 94 million developers and over 85.7 million new repositories.

61) The State of Octoverse 2023 witnessed a remarkable rise in private projects on GitHub with 38% boom over the year. It summed up more than 80% of overall GitHub activities thereby paving the way for 2024 to be the year of GitHub.

62) In 2023, GitHub saw the largest number of first-time contributors serving free-source or OSS contribution projects via programs such as freeCodeCamp, First Contributions, and GitHub Education. This is a good environment for developers and businesses looking to adopt and implement GitHub in 2024 for their projects.

63) GitHub Actions, the platform's automation feature, runs a staggering 263 million automated jobs every month, consuming more than 41 million build minutes daily.

64) India, Japan, and Singapore are the fastest-growing GitHub developer communities in Asia Pacific; Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya in Africa; Argentina, Bolivia, and Colombia in South America; Spain, Portugal, and Poland in Europe. The State of Octoverse report predicts that India will surpass the United States as the largest developer community on GitHub by 2027.

65) The software development industry faces a significant shortage of talent. By 2030, global consulting firm Korn Ferry predicts the U.S. may lose $162 billion worth of revenue annually due to this shortage, which increases to a staggering $8.5 trillion globally.

Don't Miss Out on the Chance to Elevate Your Business with Our Consulting Services

Get a Free Consultation

General Software Development Statistics and Facts

Now is the time to understand general facts and statistics about software development. This will give you an idea about the overall software development industry for 2024.

66) The average age of software developers is between 25 and 34 years.

As per the digit, we can say that there are many young developers in the market. 48.42% of software developers are from the 25 to 34 age group. 21.71% of software developers are between 35 and 44.

67) Ukraine has solidified its position as a leading destination for web development outsourcing destination.

As per the latest data, Ukraine is the home to over 200,000 outsourcing programmers with science, technology, and engineering degrees. Tech firms frequently choose Ukrainian vendors to leverage cost-effective IT expertise for their projects.

68) Approximately 24% of executives now opt for software development outsourcing as a strategic means to remain competitive in the dynamic business landscape while accessing skilled developers at reasonable rates.

The industry's demand-supply gap, with five positions per developer, is a clear indicator of the shortage, driving the need for outsourcing solutions. Offshore software development statistics highlight that the primary challenges in software development revolve around capacity, knowledge sharing, and prioritization.

69) The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in software is a prominent and ongoing trend in the world of software development.

Utilizing deep learning and advanced machine learning techniques, developers can now create improved software solutions at an accelerated pace. Software development trends project that artificial intelligence augmentation will generate an impressive $2.9 trillion.

70) The United States holds an average coding experience of 15.8 years among professional developers.

However, in a Stack Overflow survey, Australian developers topped the list with the longest coding experience at 16.9 years, followed closely by the United Kingdom at 16.1 years. The Netherlands and Canada secured fourth and fifth place, respectively. Interestingly, almost one-third of these software professionals began their coding journey 5 to 10 years ago.

71) 61% of software developers use Windows, making it the primary development environment.

Linux ranks second with 47% of developers utilizing it, while macOS takes the third spot in popularity among PC operating systems.

72) 42.65% of software developers choose Node.js and 40.58% of software developers prefer ReactJS - the duo that turns out to be the most popular technology for web development.

Selecting the proper framework for web development is crucial in the early stages of a project. Based on software development statistics, React.js stands out as one of the most popular frameworks, surpassing other web frameworks in usage. jQuery is the second favorite among software developers. The top 5 contenders also include Express, Angular, and VueJS.

73) When you hire software developers, the most crucial factors are their willingness to learn and their ability to fit into the company's culture.

The challenge lies in finding highly skilled developers who can add value to the team while adapting swiftly to the ever-changing tech landscape. While technical expertise is essential, interestingly, nearly 60% of recruiters prioritize soft skills when searching for tech employees.

74) In 2023, the primary reason cited by IT leaders for outsourcing was cost reduction, with approximately 83% highlighting it as their top priority.

82% emphasized standardization and efficiency of processes, 70% mentioned developing capabilities, and 59% pointed to driving business value as other important considerations for outsourcing.

Software Development Holds the Bright FutureThe data presented in this guide demonstrates the enduring significance of software development.For software professionals and business owners alike, staying abreast of the industry's dynamic trends is imperative as it continues to evolve.For a broader understanding of technology trends, our articles on AI Usage Statistics, DevOps Statistics, Node.js Statistics, and Agile Statistics offer valuable insights.