🔝 TIOBE Index – February 2026

Which languages dominate the market and what major changes do we see in the top

TIOBE has published the ranking for February 2026, and the results confirm several major industry trends: Python's dominance continues, C makes a spectacular comeback, and C# strengthens its position in a context where the .NET ecosystem is more relevant than ever.

👉 Official source:

https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/

🥇 Top 10 programming languages – February 2026

🐍 Python remains leader but loses some ground

Python keeps the number 1 spot without worries, but the drop of over 2% shows one clear thing:

the market is maturing, and the AI hype is no longer enough to grow indefinitely.

Python remains the preferred language for:

• AI & Machine Learning

• automation

• data science

• rapid prototyping

But the competition is starting to catch up.

⚙️ C makes a strong comeback to 2nd place

C is the big surprise of the ranking. The jump from 4th to 2nd place is no coincidence.

The growth comes from:

• embedded & IoT

• automotive

• low-level systems

• increased interest in performance and full memory control

In a world dominated by AI, hardware matters more and more.

☕ Java and C++ lose ground

Both Java and C++ decline noticeably:

• Java: -2.54%

• C++: -2.82%

This does not mean they disappear, but that:

• they are no longer the "default choice" for new projects

• they are gradually replaced by more modern or specialized alternatives

💜 C# – one of the best improvements in the top

C# rises solidly and reaches 6.83%, with an impressive increase of +2.71%.

Main factors:

• .NET 8 / .NET 9

• Blazor (WebAssembly & Hybrid)

• MAUI

• excellent integration with cloud (Azure)

• very mature tooling

C# is becoming increasingly attractive not only for enterprise but also for startups and modern applications.

📉 JavaScript declines but remains indispensable

Although it loses almost 1%, JavaScript remains omnipresent. The decline rather reflects:

• ecosystem fragmentation

• framework fatigue

• migration of some projects towards WebAssembly, backend-heavy or hybrid solutions

🧠 Other interesting moves in the top 20

• Visual Basic rises surprisingly (legacy still matters)

• R grows due to data analysis

• Perl jumps from 30th to 11th (!)

• Go loses ground after a previous boom

• Kotlin remains stable but below expectations

🔮 Conclusion: diversity, not a single winner

The TIOBE ranking from February 2026 clearly shows that:

• there is no longer a "perfect language for everything"

• specialization matters more than ever

• AI, cloud, embedded, and web each pull the market in different directions

👉 The choice of language must be made based on the problem, not on hype.

📌 Official source TIOBE Index – February 2026:

https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/