Why Do Some Developers Still Stick with Python 2 in 2023? Survey Insights Revealed
Despite Python 3’s dominance, a 2022 survey of over 23,000 developers shows that a notable minority still rely on Python 2 for data analysis, graphics, and DevOps, highlighting lingering legacy usage, regional variations, and the factors influencing language adoption across the global community.
According to survey data, a large number of Python developers still use Python 2 for data analysis, computer graphics, and DevOps.
In a survey of more than 23,000 Python developers conducted at the end of 2022, Python 3 remains the preferred choice, yet the proportion of respondents still using Python 2 actually increased compared with the previous year.
The sixth annual Python Developer Survey, carried out by the Python Software Foundation and JetBrains, was released on September 27. The 2022 report shows that 93% of respondents have adopted Python 3, while 7% continue to use Python 2.
In the 2021 survey, 95% used Python 3 and 5% used Python 2. In 2020, Python 3 accounted for 94% and Python 2 for 6%. Looking back to 2017, the split was 75% Python 3 and 25% Python 2.
Python 3 was first released in December 2008, and the latest version, Python 3.12, became generally available this week.
The 2022 report indicates that 29% of respondents still use Python 2 for data analysis, 24% for computer graphics design, and 23% for development operations. The survey also found that 45% of respondents are using Python 3.10 (released two years ago), while only 2% are on Python 3.5 or earlier (Python 3.11 was released on October 24 2022, concurrent with the survey).
Developers from over 200 countries and regions participated, with the survey running from October 14 to November 14 2022.
Other key findings include:
85% of respondents consider Python their primary language.
Web development, data analysis, and machine learning are the main use cases.
Among Python web frameworks, Flask, Django, and FastAPI are the top three.
66% of Python developers use cloud platforms, up from 61% the previous year, with Amazon Web Services being the preferred cloud provider.
Microsoft Visual Studio Code and JetBrains PyCharm are the most popular editors.
34% of respondents have developed and packaged a Python library.
Overall, newer Python versions dominate, though a small segment remains on older releases, possibly due to nostalgia or convenience
Signed-in readers can open the original source through BestHub's protected redirect.
This article has been distilled and summarized from source material, then republished for learning and reference. If you believe it infringes your rights, please contactand we will review it promptly.
21CTO
21CTO (21CTO.com) offers developers community, training, and services, making it your go‑to learning and service platform.
How this landed with the community
Was this worth your time?
0 Comments
Thoughtful readers leave field notes, pushback, and hard-won operational detail here.