What’s Driving Python’s 2025 Surge? Survey Reveals AI, Web, and Rust Trends

On September 20, 2025, the Python Software Foundation and JetBrains’ PyCharm team released a comprehensive Python development trends survey based on responses from more than 30,000 Python developers.

Current State of Python

* 50% of Python developers have less than two years of professional experience. * 51% use Python for data exploration and processing. * 46% use Python for web development. * FastAPI usage grew from 29% to 38% within a year. * 83% still run older Python versions.

Open‑Source Contributions

✔️ 78% contribute code. ✔️ 40% contribute documentation.

Future Directions

* 69% plan to try AI‑powered coding agents, with rapid adoption expected. * Parallel thread processing is slated for Python 3.14, emphasizing async and concurrency. * GUI and mobile development are gaining momentum.

Actionable Ideas for 2025

✔️ Experiment with agent‑based AI to boost productivity. ✔️ Learn uv for faster package management. ✔️ Make content and tools beginner‑friendly.

Python vs. Other Languages

Developers often use Python alongside other languages; for example, web developers may also work with C#, Java, HTML/CSS, or JavaScript. Conversely, Node.js or Deno users may also write JavaScript but not as their primary language.

86% of respondents consider Python their main language for writing programs, building applications, and creating APIs.

Newcomer Landscape

More than half of respondents are newcomers: 50% have under two years of professional coding experience, and 39% have less than two years of overall Python exposure. This underscores Python’s appeal to early‑career developers due to its concise yet expressive syntax.

Legacy Version Usage

While 15% run the latest Python release, a striking 83% continue to use versions that are a year old or older. The two main reasons are:

My current version meets all my needs (53%).

I don’t have time to upgrade (25%).

Web Development Revival

Although web development with Python seemed to decline, 2024 saw a rebound: 46% of respondents now use Python for web projects. Supporting this, usage of secondary web languages rose—HTML/CSS +15%, JavaScript +14%, SQL +16%.

Web Framework Landscape

FastAPI emerged as the biggest winner, jumping from 29% to 38% usage (a 30% increase). All major frameworks grew year‑over‑year, but FastAPI’s surge is notable, likely driven by newcomers from AI/ML backgrounds seeking a modern, async‑friendly framework.

Async‑friendly frameworks continue to gain traction. Django is adding async support, nearing completion in version 5.2.

Server Evolution

Production servers for Python web apps are shifting toward ASGI‑compatible solutions and Rust‑based servers. The decline of uWSGI, increased use of Gunicorn with async workers (uvicorn, Hypercorn), and the rise of Rust servers like Granian illustrate this trend.

Rust’s Role in Accelerating Python

Rust is becoming a performance partner for Python. At the 2025 Python Language Summit, roughly 25‑33% of native extensions on PyPI were built with Rust, indicating strong adoption.

Database Preference

PostgreSQL remains the dominant database for Python developers, growing from 43% to 49% usage—a 14% year‑over‑year increase. All top‑six databases showed growth, reflecting the broader resurgence of web development.

Forward‑Looking Trends

Agent‑based AI is expected to transform coding, offering substantial efficiency gains when paired with skilled engineers. External surveys show ~70% of developers use or plan to use AI coding tools, and 44% of professionals already use them daily.

Advice for Developers

Action 1: Learn uv for fast, Rust‑backed package management.

Action 2: Upgrade to the latest Python version to leverage performance and language improvements.

Action 3: Embrace agent‑based AI to boost productivity.

Action 4: Acquire basic Rust knowledge to understand and contribute to native extensions.

Action 5: Invest in mastering thread and parallel processing, especially async/await introduced in Python 3.6.

Action 6: Keep beginners in mind; half of the community has less than two years of Python experience, so documentation and tooling should be approachable.

With the new generation of developers and the rising demand for data and AI, Python is poised for strong growth in 2025, making its future exceptionally exciting.

Author: Luo Yi