TypeScript overtook both Python and JavaScript on GitHub in August 2025, ending Python’s 16-month run at the top with 2,636,006 monthly contributors. JavaScript still runs on 98.8% of websites, while Python’s TIOBE rating slipped from a record 26.98% in July 2025 to roughly 21% by April 2026. This article maps the current state of web development languages using verified data from GitHub Octoverse 2025, the TIOBE Index, Stack Overflow, and PYPL.
- TypeScript reached 2,636,006 monthly contributors on GitHub in August 2025, growing 66.6% year-over-year.
- JavaScript runs on 98.8% of all websites as the only programming language browsers execute natively.
- Python hit a TIOBE rating of 26.98% in July 2025, the highest score any language has recorded in TIOBE’s 25-year history.
- 80% of new GitHub repositories in 2025 were written in just six languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, C++, and C#.
- PHP dropped to 18th place in the TIOBE Index by March 2026, its lowest position in two decades.
Web Development Language Rankings Across Major Indices
Different ranking systems measure different activity. Developer surveys, search engine queries, and contributor counts produce different hierarchies. The table places the top web development languages side by side across four major indices.
| Language | Stack Overflow 2025 | TIOBE Apr 2026 | GitHub Aug 2025 (rank) | PYPL 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JavaScript | 66% | 2.92% | #3 | 5.05% |
| Python | ~58% | ~21% | #2 | 31.17% |
| TypeScript | 44% | rank #32 | #1 | 2.48% |
| Java | 30% | 8.12% | #4 | 10.46% |
| C# | 28.8% | 6.83% | #5 | 3.19% |
| PHP | ~18% | rank #18 | #6 | 3.14% |
Source: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025; TIOBE Index April 2026; GitHub Octoverse 2025; PYPL Index.
The gap between TIOBE and Stack Overflow rankings for JavaScript is notable. TIOBE counts search engine results, where JavaScript scores lower because beginners rarely search for it as a learning topic. Stack Overflow asks developers what they actually used in the past year, which puts JavaScript at 66%, the highest score for any language since 2011.
TypeScript’s #32 position in TIOBE versus its #1 GitHub rank shows how poorly TIOBE captures modern developer activity. GitHub counts active monthly contributors, which reflects real code being written. If you’re managing web infrastructure on Linux servers, these language splits intersect directly with your deployment stack.
How Did TypeScript Take Over GitHub in 2025?
TypeScript’s rise on GitHub deserves its own breakdown because the contributor numbers are unusually large.
| Metric | TypeScript | Python | JavaScript |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly contributors (Aug 2025) | 2,636,006 | ~2,594,000 | ~2,135,000 |
| YoY contributor growth | +1,050,000 (+66.6%) | +850,000 (+48.7%) | +427,000 (+24.8%) |
| New repositories (2025) | Led all languages | #2 | #3 |
Source: GitHub Octoverse 2025 Report.
TypeScript’s margin over Python was about 42,000 contributors, roughly 1.6%. The growth rate tells the clearer story. TypeScript added more than a million new contributors in a single year, driven by two factors. Frameworks like Next.js and Angular now scaffold projects in TypeScript by default. A 2025 academic study cited by GitHub also found that 94% of compilation errors from LLMs were type-check failures, making TypeScript a natural fit for AI-assisted coding workflows.
Python still leads inside AI-tagged repositories on GitHub, where Jupyter Notebook usage nearly doubled in 2025. The combined JavaScript and TypeScript ecosystem still beats Python by total activity. What changed is that authored code is increasingly TypeScript rather than plain JavaScript.
How Many Websites Use JavaScript in 2026?
Despite TypeScript’s growth, JavaScript’s grip on client-side web development hasn’t loosened. Browsers still execute JavaScript natively, and TypeScript compiles down to JavaScript before running.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Websites using JavaScript (client-side) | 98.8% | W3Techs |
| Developers using JavaScript past year | 66% | Stack Overflow 2025 |
| Years as #1 on Stack Overflow | Every year since 2011 | Stack Overflow |
| Global JavaScript developers | 13.4 million | Innowise 2025 |
Source: W3Techs; Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025; Innowise 2025.
The W3Techs figure has stayed above 97% for over a decade because browsers execute JavaScript directly. TypeScript’s growth reinforces this position rather than threatening it, since every TypeScript project ships JavaScript at runtime.
The Stack Overflow 2025 survey collected responses from over 49,000 developers across 177 countries and recorded JavaScript at 66% usage. Among professional developers the figure was higher. For teams running Node.js workflows, npm reached 57% adoption among developers in the same survey. Developers who manage their stacks through command line tools often pair Node.js with shell-based deployment workflows.
Python TIOBE Trends: From Record Peak to Correction
Python’s TIOBE journey over the past 12 months tells a story of fast climb followed by partial retreat.
| Month | TIOBE Rating | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 26.98% | #1 | All-time TIOBE record |
| August 2025 | 26.14% | #1 | Slight dip |
| January 2026 | 22.61% | #1 | Continued decline |
| February 2026 | 21.81% | #1 | 5.17pp drop from peak |
| April 2026 | ~21% | #1 | Lead of nearly 10pp over C |
Source: TIOBE Index monthly bulletins; InfoWorld reporting.
Python’s 26.98% in July 2025 was the highest rating any language had achieved in TIOBE’s history. TIOBE CEO Paul Jansen attributed the spike to AI coding assistants boosting Python’s search visibility. More Python code trains AI models, which generate more Python, which produces more searches.
The pullback to roughly 21% by April 2026 reflects more specialized languages reclaiming ground. R climbed from 15th to 8th place over the same period. Perl rose from 32nd in January 2025 to 11th by year-end. Python still leads by nearly 10 percentage points over second-place C, but the gap is narrowing.
The Stack Overflow 2025 survey confirmed Python’s growth from a different angle. Its usage among developers jumped 7 percentage points year-over-year, the largest single-year increase for any language in the survey.
Server-Side Web Development Languages: PHP Decline and Java Stability
Server-side language choices have shifted considerably over the past two years. PHP’s long decline contrasts with Java’s persistence.
| Language | TIOBE Rank (2026) | Stack Overflow Usage | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Python | #1 | ~58% | Growing |
| Java | #4 | 30% (pro) | Stable |
| C# | #5 | 28.8% (pro) | Growing (+2.94pp YoY) |
| PHP | #18 | ~18% | Declining |
| Go | #16 | ~14% | Fluctuating |
| Rust | #16 | ~13% | Plateauing |
Source: TIOBE Index April 2026; Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025.
PHP’s drop is the biggest long-term story in web development. It held a top-3 TIOBE position multiple times between 2006 and 2010. By March 2026 it ranked 18th, the lowest position in two decades. PHP still powers WordPress, but new projects increasingly choose Python with Django or FastAPI, or JavaScript with Node.js or Next.js. Many of these stacks are deployed on Linux-based servers using container workflows.
C# was named TIOBE’s Programming Language of the Year for 2025 after gaining 2.94 percentage points year-over-year. Java reached its lowest-ever TIOBE position of #4 in March 2026, although its rating of 8.12% in April still places it firmly in the top five.
Rust’s 72% developer approval rate in Stack Overflow’s “most admired language” category hasn’t translated into broad web adoption. It reached an all-time TIOBE high of #13 in early 2026 but dropped to #16 by April. TIOBE’s analysis suggests Rust’s adoption rate is plateauing because the language remains difficult for non-expert programmers to learn. Memory safety still matters for backend services and secure coding workflows on Linux, but mainstream adoption remains modest.
Fastest-Growing Web Development Languages in 2025
Growth rate often predicts which languages will reshape the ecosystem next, and it can differ sharply from absolute size.
| Language | YoY GitHub Contributor Growth | Stack Overflow Usage Change |
|---|---|---|
| TypeScript | +66.6% | +~5pp |
| Python | +48.7% | +7pp |
| JavaScript | +24.8% | +~4pp |
| C# | +22.2% (136,735 new) | Stable |
| Rust | ~+35% (job postings) | +2pp |
Source: GitHub Octoverse 2025; Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025.
TypeScript’s 66.6% growth is impressive because it happened on top of an already large base. Adding a million contributors when you already have 1.5 million is harder than growing from a small starting point. C#’s 22.2% contributor growth, adding 136,735 new contributors, reflects steady enterprise adoption rather than a sudden spike.
Go’s TIOBE rank dropped from 7th in January 2025 to 16th by April 2026, losing more than 1 percentage point. The decline contrasts with continued Go adoption in cloud-native services. TIOBE’s methodology may not fully capture Go’s usage in containerized microservices and Kubernetes-adjacent tooling, where developers often work directly through terminal-based environments.
What’s Driving These Growth Numbers?
AI coding tools are now a major factor. GitHub reported that 80% of new developers used Copilot within their first week, and over 1.1 million public repositories now use an LLM SDK, up 178% year-over-year. AI assistants favor languages with extensive training data and clear syntax, accelerating Python and TypeScript while making it harder for newer languages to break through. Many developers run these AI workflows in Linux-based development environments alongside their build tools.
What the Data Says About Web Development Language Choices in 2026
The numbers from 2025 and 2026 point to a three-layer structure in web development. JavaScript and TypeScript own the application layer. 98.8% of websites run JavaScript client-side, and TypeScript now leads GitHub by contributor count. Python owns the AI and data layer, powering roughly 50% of all AI-tagged repositories on GitHub. Java and C# hold the enterprise backend layer, with steady GitHub contributor growth.
PHP is the clearest loser in recent data. Its PYPL share dropped from over 20% in 2008 to 3.14% in February 2026, a decline of nearly 17 percentage points over 18 years.
The most telling stat may be this: 80% of newly created software libraries on GitHub in 2025 were written in just six languages. Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, C++, and C# now dominate the entire ecosystem. Everything else splits the remaining 20%. Linux powers 59.2% of websites with identifiable operating systems, so these language choices ripple directly through server infrastructure decisions, often configured through command-line tools and shell scripts.
FAQs
What is the most popular web development language in 2026?
It depends on the metric. JavaScript leads on Stack Overflow with 66% developer usage and runs on 98.8% of websites. Python leads TIOBE with a rating near 21%. TypeScript leads GitHub with 2.6 million monthly contributors as of August 2025.
Did TypeScript really overtake JavaScript and Python on GitHub?
Yes. In August 2025, TypeScript reached 2,636,006 monthly contributors on GitHub, beating Python by about 42,000 contributors and JavaScript by roughly 500,000. GitHub called it the most significant language shift in more than a decade.
Why is PHP declining as a web development language?
PHP dropped to 18th in TIOBE by March 2026, its lowest in two decades. Its PYPL share fell from over 20% in 2008 to 3.14% in early 2026. Competing frameworks in Python, JavaScript, and Ruby pulled developers toward newer stacks for new projects.
How fast is Python growing among web developers?
Python grew by 850,000 GitHub contributors in 2025, a 48.7% year-over-year increase. Stack Overflow recorded a 7 percentage point jump in usage in 2025, the largest single-year gain for any language in survey history.
Is Rust becoming popular for web development?
Not yet. Rust holds a 72% admiration rate on Stack Overflow, the highest of any language. It reached an all-time TIOBE high of #13 in early 2026 but fell to #16 by April. TIOBE noted that adoption appears to be plateauing.
