Why C++ Was Crowned TIOBE’s 2022 Language of the Year – Trends and Insights

According to the TIOBE Programming Language Popularity Index, C++ was named the 2022 Language of the Year.

Tiobe monitors the languages developers use and publishes a monthly ranking based on search engine queries from Google, Bing, Yahoo, Wikipedia and others.

In the January 2023 ranking, C++ topped the list, earning the title because its market‑share grew the most over the past 12 months, increasing by 4.62% and overtaking Java.

The runner‑up was C, which grew 3.82%, while the overall leader Python grew 2.78%. Java slipped to fourth place with a 1.55% increase.

Rust made a notable comeback, climbing two spots to re‑enter the top‑20 after being 26th a year earlier. Lua rose from 30th to 24th, and F# jumped from 74th to 33rd. Emerging languages such as Kotlin (25th), Julia (29th) and Dart (38th) are seen as promising but still have a long way to go.

Tiobe CEO Paul Jensen explained that C++’s popularity stems from its high‑performance, object‑oriented nature, enabling the development of large software systems with millions of lines of code without becoming a “maintenance nightmare.”

C++ was created in 1985 by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup, who introduced mainstream object‑oriented programming and influenced many later languages including Java, C# and Fortran 99. New language standards such as C++11 and C++20 have further boosted its appeal.

C++ is the primary language for building the Chrome browser and, together with C, is a key language for the Android open‑source project. It is also widely used in system programming, automotive, finance and game development.

Tiobe notes that Rust re‑entered the top‑20, and after Linux kernel 6.1 officially adopted Rust, the language’s reputation has risen sharply, clearing the path for Rust‑written drivers.

Microsoft Azure CTO Mark Russinovich advises developers to avoid C or C++ for new projects, recommending Rust for its memory‑safety advantages and urging the industry to consider deprecating the older languages.

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