Every month, the TIOBE Index publishes a ranking of the most popular programming languages in the world. It is not about the best language, but the most sought-after — how many programmers work with it, how many courses exist, how many employers demand it.
It is, practically, a thermometer of the global software industry.
The June 2026 edition comes with a spectacular comeback, some confirmations, and a decline that continues to surprise.
🔝 Top 20 programming languages – June 2026
| Jun 2026 | Jun 2025 | Language | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Python | 18.96% | 🔽 -6.91% |
| 2 | 3 | C | 10.77% | 🔼 +1.30% |
| 3 | 2 | C++ | 8.03% | 🔽 -2.65% |
| 4 | 4 | Java | 7.90% | 🔽 -0.94% |
| 5 | 5 | C# | 4.85% | 🔼 +0.17% |
| 6 | 6 | JavaScript | 3.04% | 🔽 -0.17% |
| 7 | 8 | Visual Basic | 2.80% | 🔼 +0.59% |
| 8 | 12 | SQL | 1.77% | 🔼 +0.23% |
| 9 | 14 | R | 1.69% | 🔼 +0.30% |
| 10 | 9 | Delphi/Object Pascal | 1.54% | 🔽 -0.60% |
| 11 | 16 | Scratch | 1.46% | 🔼 +0.27% |
| 12 | 18 | Rust | 1.26% | 🔼 +0.30% |
| 13 | 7 | Go | 1.20% | 🔽 -1.08% |
| 14 | 15 | PHP | 1.17% | 🔽 -0.08% |
| 15 | 25 | Swift | 1.00% | 🔼 +0.27% |
| 16 | 11 | Ada | 0.97% | 🔽 -0.74% |
| 17 | 10 | Fortran | 0.95% | 🔽 -0.91% |
| 18 | 13 | Perl | 0.92% | 🔽 -0.55% |
| 19 | 19 | Assembly language | 0.87% | 🔽 -0.04% |
| 20 | 17 | MATLAB | 0.85% | 🔽 -0.28% |
⚡ News of the month: Rust reaches a new all-time high
Two months ago, the TIOBE editors wrote that Rust seemed to have stagnated. The conclusion seemed reasonable: the language had not gained any position for a whole year.
June 2026 completely changes the story.
Rust climbs to 12th place — the best ranking in its entire history — with a rating of 1.26% (+0.30%). It is a comeback few anticipated.
But what is Rust and why does it matter? Think of it as a programming language that combines the speed of a Formula 1 engine with the safety of an airbag. It can do extremely fast things without the risk of causing catastrophic memory errors — the kind of errors that have been behind major security breaches in the software we all use.
That is why even the United States government has officially recommended migrating to Rust for critical systems.
The challenge remains the same: Rust is hard to learn. It is not a language for beginners. And that makes it grow more slowly than its supporters would like. But the trend is clearly upward, and the TIOBE editors have admitted their prediction error: Rust has not stagnated — it has just warmed up.
🐍 Python — undisputed leader, but in accelerated decline
Python still holds the first place, but with 18.96% — a decrease of -6.91% compared to June 2025. It is the largest single-year drop in the recent history of the language.
What is happening? It’s not that Python is less useful — quite the opposite. But the market is saturated. Everyone has learned Python in recent years, fueled by the wave of interest in artificial intelligence. Now that AI has become part of everyday life, the initial enthusiasm has turned into normality. Python is no longer a novelty — it is infrastructure.
It is, in fact, a sign of maturity.
🏛️ C climbs to 2nd place — the 54-year-old language that refuses to die
The C language was created in 1972. It is older than most programmers who use it today. And yet, in June 2026, it climbs to 2nd place, with 10.77%.
The reason is simple and fascinating: the modern world runs on billions of small devices — sensors, smart thermostats, autonomous cars, medical equipment, satellites. All need fast, efficient code with minimal energy consumption. And for that, after 54 years, C remains irreplaceable.
The moral: in technology, longevity is earned through real utility, not hype.
📈 C# — modest but steady growth
C# is the language of the Microsoft ecosystem — used for business applications, web platforms, video games (through the Unity engine), and cloud solutions. In June 2026 it is in 5th place with 4.85% (+0.17%).
The growth is small compared to previous months, but the direction remains positive. C# is one of the few languages in the top 10 that is not losing ground.
📉 Go — second year of continuous decline
Go is a language created by Google, considered a few years ago the future of cloud infrastructure. Simple, fast, elegant — it was the perfect recipe.
The reality in June 2026: Go is in 13th place, down from 7th in June 2025 — a drop of 6 positions in one year, with a decrease of -1.08%.
The lesson? Simplicity and backing from a tech giant are not enough if the community does not stay enthusiastic long-term. Rust and other alternatives have captured more and more attention from the space Go used to occupy.
🌟 Other notable movements
Some developments worth mentioning:
- SQL rises from 12th to 8th place — the language for databases remains one of the most sought-after skills in the industry.
- R climbs from 14th to 9th place — statistics and academic research are growing.
- Swift makes the biggest jump in the top 20: from 25th to 15th place — the Apple ecosystem attracts more and more developers.
- Fortran, created in 1957 and used in scientific computing, drops from 10th to 17th place — one of the rare declines of a truly vintage language.
🔭 What does all this mean for you?
If you are a programmer and want to know where to invest your time, the data from June 2026 is clear: Python and C# for business applications and AI, R for data and statistics, Rust if you want to be at the forefront of systems programming.
If you are an entrepreneur or manager, an important message: the software talent market is increasingly concentrated around a few large ecosystems. Excessive diversification of the technology stack becomes a recruitment problem.
If you are simply curious about the world of technology — remember that a language created in 1972 is 2nd in the world, and one considered stagnated two months ago has just reached its all-time high. In tech, predictions are always provisional.
