Tiobe’s monthly index is based on a formula assessing the number of skilled engineers worldwide, courses, and third-party vendors pertinent to a language. Popular web sites such as Google, Amazon, Wikipedia, Bing, and more than 20 others are used to calculate the ratings.
Elsewhere in the Tiobe index for 2024, the C language declined in popularity and was surpassed by C++ and Java. The main reason for this was that C was replaced by C++ in a lot of embedded systems, Jansen said. “Java and C++ are currently fighting for the top 2 position. The other interesting thing is that PHP said a final farewell to the top 10 and is replaced by Go, which is a top 10 keeper.”
Jansen also remarked on Rust and Kotlin. “Rust is still getting more popular. Despite the amazing speed of Rust programs, its steep learning curve will never make it become the lingua franca of the common programmer unfortunately. Kotlin, on the other hand, disappointed: it didn’t break through and even lost (possibly permanently) its top 20 position in 2024.” Also noted in Jansen’s report were the rises of Zig, which climbed from 149th place to 61st in 2024, and Mojo, which jumped from 194th place to 68th place. “I have high hopes that [Mojo] will get close to a top 20 position in 2025,” Jansen said.