May 2023 TIOBE Programming Language Index Highlights Rapid Growth of C# and Strong C++ Momentum

Technology evolves rapidly, a fact reflected in the monthly TIOBE programming language ranking; the latest May 2023 list reveals new trends.

C# usage increase highest, C++ may challenge Top 3

The Top 10 positions remain stable compared with April, and the Top 5 are still Python, C, Java, C++, and C#.

C# is the most popular language among developers, showing the highest growth of 1.98%; over the past 12 months its market share has risen by nearly 2%. TIOBE CEO Paul Jansen commented, "C# is one of the most mature languages, supporting many modern paradigms, though its Linux support has been a shortcoming that is improving quickly."

In industry, C# spans many domains—including embedded systems, portable computers, TVs, phones, game software, desktop applications, interactive systems, and OS platforms—and is even encroaching on C++'s game market.

Jansen is very optimistic about C#'s future, predicting it could replace C and enter the TIOBE Top 3.

C++ also shows strong momentum; driven by the latest C++20 standard, it is a strong contender for a Top 3 spot.

Additional notable changes in the Top 20 include: R language falling from 11th to 13th place, Swift climbing two spots to 12th, and Ruby dropping from 15th to 19th, nearly exiting the Top 20.

Other programming language rankings

Below are the complete rankings for positions 21‑50 (unofficial, may contain omissions):

Positions 51‑100 are listed alphabetically due to minimal value differences:

ABC, ActionScript, Apex, B4X, BBC BASIC, bc, BCPL, C shell, CFML, cg, CL (OS/400), Clipper, CLIPS, Clojure, CLU, Crystal, Eiffel, Elixir, Erlang, F#, Factor, GML, Icon, Ladder Logic, LiveCode, Maple, Max/MSP, Mercury, ML, Modula‑3, Monkey, Moto, MQL4, MUMPS, NATURAL, NXT‑G, Oberon, OpenEdge ABL, PL/I, PostScript, Pure Data, Q, Ring, S‑PLUS, Scheme, Snap!, SPARK, Tcl, X10, XC

Top 10 Programming Language TIOBE Index Trend (2002‑2022)

Historical Rankings (1987‑2022)

Note: Rankings are based on a 12‑month average.

Programming Language "Hall of Fame" (2003‑2021)

The TIOBE Programming Language Community Ranking is a monthly indicator of language popularity, based on the number of engineers, courses, and third‑party vendors worldwide, including search engines and tech communities such as Google, Baidu, Wikipedia, CSDN, Bing, and Hao123. Detailed methodology is available at https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/programming-languages-definition/. The ranking reflects popularity, not language quality or code volume.

This ranking can help you assess whether your programming skills are up‑to‑date and serve as a reference when choosing a language for new systems.

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