There is no official count for programming languages that are out there till now. Some people claim there are more than seven hundred programming languages. You can find several sources on the internet that keep the list of most popular programming languages. 

One of the websites is the TIOBE index. It states a list of over two-hundred-fifty programming languages. But not each of them became popular. Most of them are not even known today. But still, there is a significant number of programming languages that are popular as well as used today. 

One of the toughest parts of the journey to becoming a software developer is choosing a programming language. You do have to consider a lot of factors while making this decision. Some of the significant factors are:

• The language should be active and popular enough.
• It should be efficient and high performing.
• It should have considerable community support.
• If you are a beginner, then the learning curve is also significant. 
• It should be compatible enough with the area of development you are focusing.

Out of all the programming languages, here is the list of the top ten most popular programming languages to learn in 2022.

Python

Python is one of the most user-friendly programming languages. Created in 1990 by Guido van Rossum, Python has become one of the most popular and in-demand programming languages. It is useful in various areas, such as web development, GUI-based desktop development, machine learning, deep learning, and many more. 

Pros:

• The syntax of Python is considered one of the simplest. It is the best option for a beginner.
• Development in Python is fast because of less code and straightforward syntax.
• Python has broad community support.
• It has several libraries. You can find a library for everything.
• It is an object-oriented programming language.

Cons:

• Execution speed is slow in Python.
• It is not suitable for mobile application development.

Popularity:

According to the StackOverflow 2019 insights, Python is one of the most popular programming languages among professional developers.

Python was in the 4th position in May 2019, and a year later, it is in the 3rd position.

Python is popular. It is in huge demand. If you are an absolute beginner, Python is a perfect choice. 

Related:

• The Ultimate Python Cheat Sheet – An Essential Reference for Python Developers
• Building a Web App with Python – Getting Started With Flask

Javascript

Javascript has come a long way. Developers developed this in ten days as a scripting language for simple client-side tasks. But over the years, It has become one of the most popular programming languages of the web. Not just popular but highly essential.

As a result, Javascript is one of the three core technologies of the World Wide Web(WWW). 

Pros:

• Javascript is fast when compared to other languages.
• The syntax is not complicated, like Java and C/C++. It is easy to understand Javascript.
• Javascript can work on the client-side and the server-side, making it applicable for full-stack development.
• It provides interfaces for front-end development.
• It dramatically reduces the server load.

Cons:

• Javascript code on the clients-side is visible to the user. Thus creating security concerns.
• Before publishing a Javascript application, it needs to be checked on different browsers because the Javascript code behaves differently on different browsers.
• It lacks debugging facilities.

Popularity:

Javascript is the most popular language among the professional developers in the StackOverflow’s list.

It is stable in the TIOBE index as well. 

Javascript is widespread, and since the emergence of Node.js, it has become one of the essential languages. If your goal is web development, then you need to learn Javascript.

Since it is so powerful and widely used, JavaScript easily makes the list of the top 10 most popular programming languages of 2022. 

Read: 12 Must-Have Skills of a Front End Developer

Java

Java is the most common programming language. Even a beginner knows about Java. Developed by James Gosling in 1995, Java has become one of the most popular languages since then. Java is, Write Once Run Everywhere. Java code can run on any platform without the need for recompilation.

Today, over 3 billion devices use Java. As a result, Java is without a doubt one of the most popular programming languages.

Pros:

• Java is platform-independent.
• Being multi-threaded, it is fast.
• The syntax of Java is similar to many programming languages. It is easy to understand.
• It has a mild learning curve.
• It offers automatic memory management.
• It has enormous community support.

Cons:

• Java is verbose. The code is long and complicated.
• Performance is slow.
• Support of low-level languages is missing in Java.

Popularity:

Java is popular among professional developers because of its familiar syntax and huge demand. It is in the 6th place at StackOverflow’s 2019 insights.

In May 2019, Java was at the 1st place, and one year later, it is at the 2nd place. 

Java is doing great in the programming world for a long time. No doubt, It is one of the most popular languages, and it will remain popular in the coming future. It is in huge demand. 

C#

Microsft created C# as a part of their .NET initiative. Microsft aimed to develop its objective oriented language. Though criticized in the early years, C# has become one of the most popular programming languages for windows, android, IOS application development.

Pros:

• Syntax of C# is very similar to C.
• It is easy to understand.
• C# can easily integrate with .NET.

Cons:

• C# is considered cross-platform, but still, it is primary for windows.
• It uses pointers in the unsafe block.

Popularity:

C# is in the 7th position. It is quite popular among professional developers.

C# jumped one place from 6th to 5th position in one year. 

You can see, C# is popular as well as in demand. It is the primary language in Microsft’s .NET initiative. Also, if your goal is windows development, C# is a top choice.

C++

Created in 1972, C is the oldest programming language in this list, and it is also of the oldest language that is still in use. Dennis Ritchie created it. C has influenced several popular languages such as Java, Javascript, and Python. C++ came in 1985 as an extension of C, featuring more additional characteristics. 

Pros:

• The syntax of C++ is similar to many other programming languages. Thus, making it is easy to learn and understand.
• Being an old but modernizing language, C++ has many compilers and libraries.
• It supports object-oriented and functional programming.
• It has broad community support.
• It is portable and scalable.

Cons:

• C++ has too many features. It is challenging to master.
• It does not support dynamic memory allocation and garbage collection.
• Using pointers in C++ is difficult.

Popularity:

After C, C++ is the oldest programming language in the StackOverflow’s list. Moreover, it is quite popular among professional developers.

Despite a single drop in the list, C++ is at the 4th position at the TIOBE index.

C++ has a long history. In the early 2000s, C++ lost its prominence to Java. But with the rise of GPU and cloud computing, C++ has again become one of the most popular programming languages. It is worth learning C++, especially for beginners.

R

Released in 1993, R is an excellent programming language for data analysis and GUIs. It may be the least popular programming language on this list. However, it is a popular language among the data analytics community. That is why it is worth putting it on this list.

Data science is booming, and no doubt, R is one of the best choices for it.

Pros:

• R is highly compatible with other programming languages.
• It also works for machine learning models such as classification and regression.
• There are also features for building artificial neural networks.
• It is excellent for statistical development.
• It is platform-independent.

Cons:

• R originates from an older programming language called S, and thus, it does not support many modern features.
• Data handling is poor in R.
• It is challenging to learn.

Popularity:

Not to mention, R is not that famous. It is in the 16th position in the list of most popular languages among developers.

Data science is booming, and you can see, R jumped from 21st position to 10th position in one year. Indeed that is a great improvement in popularity.

Another important factor of a programming language is the area in which you can use the language. Hence, R is one of the most popular programming languages for data science.

Read: How to Become a Data Scientist – The Sexiest Job of 21st Century

Swift

Swift is a very young programming language created by Apple in 2014. Apple developed Swift to build products such as IOS, macOS, iPad, tvOS, and watchOS. The main aim of Swift was to replace Objective-C. Therefore, became the primary language for IOS application development.

Pros:

• It is easy to understand code written in Swift.
• Swift is a compiled language, thus making it very fast.
• It can integrate with many backend technologies. 
• Despite being Apple’s language, it has cross-platform support.

Cons:

• Swift is rapidly updated.
• It is a very young programming language. Thus, the demand is still not that high.

Popularity:

Being a young language, it is evident that Swift is still not that popular among professional developers. As you can see that it is in the 14th position on the list.

It is still in the 11th position in the TIOBE index in May 2022 while it was in the 18th position before.

You may not find it convincing after looking at popularity charts, but Swift is backed by Apple. Additionally, it has established as the primary language for IOS application development in recent years.

It is worth learning swift if your goal is IOS development.

PHP

Some may say PHP is dead. But it is not valid. Rasmus Lerdorf created it in 1994, and since then, it is prevalent in the web development community. 

Mainly, PHP’s primary use is in server-side development.

Pros:

• PHP is highly productive when it comes to server-side development.
• It supports object-oriented and functional programming.
• It is easy to work with PHP.
• Many tools for testing and deploying are available.

Cons:

• When compared to other languages, development with PHP is slow.

Popularity:

PHP is quite popular among developers. It is in the 8th position.

PHP jumped one position in the last one year at the TIOBE index.

Since the introduction of Node.js, PHP’s lost its fair share in the market. But still, it is one of the top choices for server-side development. You can always choose PHP to work in backend development.

Go

Go is one of the newest programming languages that are present in this list. It was created at Google by Robert Griesemer, Ken Thompson, and Rob Pike. 

Pros:

• Go is easy to understand. Its syntax is similar to other popular programming languages.
• Go is backed by Google, and it is also using to quite heavily. It is absolute that Google is not going anywhere and may expand the Go language shortly. 
• It has well-maintained documentation.
• It comes with an embedded garbage collector.
• Concurrent programming becomes comfortable with Go.

Cons:

• Go is still young. It is again falling behind when compared to the giants of the programming language world.
• It is perfect at Google, but it still needs to evolve to find a higher place in the rest of the world.
• It has no Graphical User Interface(GUI) library.

Popularity: 

Go is placed just below Ruby with a little difference at StackOverflow 2019 insights.

At the TIOBE index, Go’s position has significantly changed from 19th to 12th in one year.

Go is young, and Google backs it. There is a high chance that Go will rise in the future.

Ruby

Created in the mid-90s, Ruby is a high-level programming language. Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto created it as an “Object-Oriented scripting language.”

Pros:

• Ruby supports multiple programming paradigms, such as object-oriented programming, functional programming, and procedural programming.
• It uses garbage collection.
• It has a flat learning curve. Thus, making the right choice for beginners.
• It has an active and vast community.

Cons: 

• It is not much flexible. 
• The performance of Ruby is not that good.
• One major disadvantage of using Ruby is the high cost of mistakes during development. 

Popularity:

According to the StackOverflow 2019 insights, Ruby is in the 12th number in the list of most popular programming, scripting, and markup languages among developers.

Despite being down in the list, Ruby still has a massive demand in job markets. Maybe it is not as popular as the other programming languages in this article, but you can always learn and gain a lot from Ruby.

Conclusion

So, these are the top ten most popular programming languages to learn in 2022. No one can pick out the best programming language because each programming language has its pros and cons. It depends on your goal.

If you are a beginner, Python is the best choice. You can also go for Ruby or Javascript.

Read: Coding for Beginners – Start Here

For someone who’s goal is Web development can choose Javascript, Java, or Python.

For windows, Go with C#. For IOS, Go with Swift.

Data science is booming, and for it, R is a great choice. And so is Python!

C++ may be an old language, but still, it is in demand. Similarly, PHP is still prevalent.

New languages such as GO and Swift are not that popular, but they are worth learning.

A lot of it has to do with what you want to achieve in your career.

What’s your opinion on the top 10 most popular programming languages? Do you code in any of the programming languages described here? If so, what is your experience?