The GitHub ranking of most-used programming languages has a new number one. Python is pushing JavaScript off the throne, and that has to do with AI, according to GitHub.
GitHub publishes its annual Octoverse report in which it looks back at what happened on the developer platform over the past year. The report also includes each year’s hit list of most-used programming languages. And that one has a new number one this year.
After years of dominance by JavaScript, Python may call itself this year’s GitHub champion. Python nestled into second place in 2019 at the expense of Java, which drops another place this year, and now captures the lead position. TypeScript gets to join the podium for the first time.
Thanks to AI
Python’s rise on GitHub does not come by accident. In many other rankings, Python has been showing off first place for years. GitHub attributes Python’s rising popularity in part to the AI mania that is also luring other profiles beyond the stereotypical developer to the platform.
Python is widely used in machine learning, data science, scientific computing, hobbyists and home automation circles. GitHub also sees a more notable rise in the use of systems programming languages such as Rust, although Rust does not make the top ten for now.
GitHub is bigger than ever in 2024. The number of projects grew 25 percent by 518 million, accounting for more than 5 billion contributions to those projects. In particular, GenAI-related activity increased rapidly. GitHub reports a 98 percent increase in projects to 137,000 and 59 percent in contributions.