You’ve come across Python numerous times TODAY.

Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, general-purpose programing language that comes with dynamic semantics.

All of these characteristics make Python one of the top programming languages in the world, according to Python statistics 2020.

Statistics also say that jobs related to Python are booming. Indeed currently lists more than 70,000 jobs available while Glassdoor has about 90,000 current openings!

We have compiled a list of fascinating stats that will put things in a better perspective for you.

Awesome Python Facts and Stats (Editor’s Choice):

  • Python was named after Monty Python’s Flying Circus!
  • ILM, the company that created the effects for the Star Wars franchise, uses Python.
  • The majority of Python users are between the ages of 21 and 29!
  • Google search trends for 2019 place Python as the second most sought for language on the net.
  • A Python developer can earn as much as $118.000 a year!
  • Python is one of the official languages used by Google!
  • There are 147,000 packages in the Python’s package repository!

Before we start dishing out stats, we need to clear some basics out of the way!

What is Python Programming Language Used For?

Python is a general-purpose coding language. Besides web development, it can be used for other types of programming and software development. Python is garbage-collected and dynamically typed and is also able to support multiple programming paradigms. This includes procedural and functional programming as well.

Python was created by Guido van Rossum in the 1980s. However, today the Python Software Foundation manages all resources for Python and makes it available for many operating systems.

Thus, Python can be used for things like:

  • Software and desktop app development.
  • Back end and mobile app development.
  • Processing big data.
  • Writing system scripts.

In fact, Python programming has a lot of useful uses that can be explained in a much wider array. But for now, let’s focus on the most important facts.

Statistics About Python

1. Python was named after Monty Python’s Flying Circus!

Many people are confused by the name Python. Most immediately thought of the biggest snake species. However, Guido van Rossum never intended for his program to have such a menacing connotation.

In fact, Python programming language was named after BBC’s Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Van Rossum wanted a unique and short name. He loved the show and thought that “Python” sounds catchy enough. The rest is history. 

According to research conducted in 2015, primary school students wanted to learn Python more than French. Stats show that 6 out of 10 wanted to learn Python.

Mind-blowing!

At the same time, 75% were also interested in learning how to build and control a robot opposed to learning French.

3. Python is very similar to English!

The Python code is really easy to write because it is very similar to the English language. In fact, that was the whole idea behind the project. The developers wanted to make a program that would be easy to understand. The code uses English keywords instead of punctuations, making it immensely easy to use even for beginners.

Additionally, it allows you to build custom applications without writing additional code. It also helps in maintaining and updating the software.

4. ILM, the company that created the effects for Star Wars, uses Python.

Many companies around the world use Python programming projects. One of the most recognizable ones is Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the special effects company that helped create Star Wars. Actually, the company has already become synonymous with FX. One of their most famous effects was the explosion of the Genesis Project in the Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan movie.ILM started using Python 1.4 giving it an immense advantage over Perl and TcI. Since Python is backward-compatible it was a lot easier to integrate it into their existing infrastructure. ILM helped to introduce Python to the world, as it was able to extend its standard graphics applications for further uses.

Today, Python stats reveal that a number of the most popular companies in the world are using it. Some of them include:

  • Google
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Quora
  • Spotify
  • Netflix
  • Reddit
  • Dropbox
  • NASA
  • IBM

5. The majority of Python users are between the ages of 21 and 29!

According to the survey conducted by Stack Overflow, 40% of Python users are between the age of 21 and 29. Actually, Python users vary in age greatly as there are more and more freelance Python programming jobs now available.

Python Users Age Range:

  • Age 17 and under: 8%
  • Age 18 – 20: 10%
  • Age 21 – 29: 40%
  • Age 30 – 39: 27%
  • Age 40 – 49: 11%
  • Age 50 – 59: 4%
  • Age 60 and over: 1%

Also, 52% of the surveyed Python developers are working full-time. 13% of them are employed as freelancers.

6. 56% of Python developers work on their own projects independently.

Working in a larger group in relation to Python is uncommon. Actually, most Python programming jobs require you to work independently from others.

According to a survey, 56% of Python developers work on projects by themselves. But there are still 40% of them that work in a team. Only 4% work as an external consultant or a trainer.

7. Four out of five developers claim that Python is their main language!

In 2017, four out of five developers stated that their primary language is Python. 79% of those asked by JetBrains claim that Python is the primary language that they use. This is actually an increase of 4% compared to the year prior.

Python facts also state that the number rose from 32% at the start of the year to 38% for the end of the year. The main reason why is the increased usage of Python for data science jobs that was seen during that period.   Secondary languages used in combination with Python:

  • JavaScript – 50%
  • HTML/CSS - 49%
  • SQL - 39%
  • C/C++ - 39%
  • Bash/Shell - 34%
  • Java - 23%
  • PHP - 14%
  • C# - 11%

8. 1.4% of all websites on the internet use Python as a server-side programming language!

Python online research states that 1.4% of sites on the internet use Python. This is opposed to 0.9% of websites that use JavaScript.More in-depth research reveals that out of those sites, 1.3% rank up in the top 1,000,000 sites on the web.

If we take a look at the Google search results from 2019 for programming languages, we will see that Python ranks at the very top. Besides looking for how to install Python, most people were interested in job opportunities in regards to this language.

JavaScript jobs are still most popular as searches for JavaScript rank highest.

Most searched programming languages on Google:

  • JavaScript
  • Python
  • Java
  • Go
  • Elixir
  • Ruby
  • Kotlin
  • TypeScript
  • Scala
  • Clojure

10. Python has been downloaded 23 million times for Windows!

Python.org is the main and primary source of data about Python itself. According to them, by March 2019 there have been 23,122,064 hits for Python download for Windows users. This translates into 59.37% of hits established for the period.

11. Python developers outnumber Java developers.

It seems that the number of Python users has been growing exponentially in recent times. The popularity has reached such levels that the number of Python jobs is much larger than the number of Java Developers.

There are 8.2 million Python developers in the world, Python statistics 2020 revealed. 7.6 million developers work with Java.

For comparison, in September 2019 there have been 7 million Python developers opposed to 7.1 million of Java developers.

12. A Python developer can earn as much as $118.000 a year!

Learning Python can be a very lucrative job opportunity for a person. Being a Python developer is one of the highest-paid positions currently in the world and especially in the USA. Based on the information gathered from the job platform Indeed, Python programming jobs salary can amount to $118,000 a year in the US.

Of course, it all depends on the seniority level, years of experience, the company, and the actual position. Therefore, Glassdoor reports an average salary of $76,526 a year worldwide.

The numbers may differ but it still remains a very good job opportunity for those willing to try.

13. There are more than 9,000 remote Python jobs currently available!

More and more employers are going remote. ZipRecruiter currently offers more than 9,000 Python programming jobs from home. The number is getting larger as more and more companies require this type of work.

Additionally, you will find more remote work on Indeed - 2,000+ positions available and 6,000 more on Glassdoor.

14. Python has greatly influenced the development of Java.

Python is a general-purpose programming language and as such puts a great emphasis on code readability and usage of significant whitespace. But based on Python print you will notice that it had a great influence on developing Java. There are many similarities between these programs, even though Python is aimed more at dynamic programming.

Not only that but there are many other programs that are connected to Python. Most of them are similar due to language issues. However, there is no doubt that developers had Python in mind when they were creating these programs. Also, there are many real-world constraints that prompt users to choose a program for a specific purpose.

Other programming languages influenced by Python function:

  • Java
  • JavaScript
  • Perl
  • Tcl
  • Smalltalk
  • C++
  • Common Lips and Scheme

15. Python is one of the official languages used by Google!

Not many languages can boast the fact that they are one of the official languages that Google uses. Actually, officially, Python is one of the more important programming languages in use for Google. It is even used for YouTube.One of the main reasons is that Python for beginners is really easy to use.

16. Python is an Open Source language.

Not many people realize that Python is an open-source language. This means that members of the language community can freely add to their code as they wish. This helps develop the program among peers and expands the Python dictionary.

The main aspect of Python being open source is the fact that it does not have a license that states who actually controls the program.

17. There is a poem written about Python called “The Zen of Python!”

Believe it or not, there is a poem written about Python. It’s called “The Zen of Python.” The poem was written by a software engineer named Tim Powers. The poem is about 19 guiding principles of Python programming.

In order to access and read the poem, you just need to “import” into the interpreter and the poem will appear.

Interestingly, Powers left the 20th principle open as “for Guido to fill in”. This is referring to Guido van Rossum, the program’s creator. However, the slot remains empty to this day. 

18. There are both C and Java variants of Python!

Python may be an independent language but it does come in derived from Java and C++ variations. Python programming examples show that a variant known as CPython exists that uses additional attributes from C programming in order to add those benefits as well.

One of the benefits is being able to act both as an interpreter and as a compiler.

19. Python Certification from University of Michigan offers one of the best certificates for learning Python.

The Python Certification from the University of Michigan has been rated as one of the best certifications currently available. It actually has more than 228,500 enrolments on Coursera.

This Python certification teaches you how to program and analyses data using Python. One can use also learn some fundamental programming concepts like networked application program interfaces, data structures, and databases with Python.

Besides this one there are some other useful ones and each one comes with its own merits. Most of them allow you to start from scratch and learn the basics first.

Having a Python programming certification definitely gives you an advantage and you can also check these ones out:

  • Complete Python Bootcamp: Go from zero to hero in Python 3
  • Applied Data Science with Python Specialization from University of Michigan
  • Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp
  • Python Programming Masterclass
  • Professional Certificate in Introduction to Computing in Python by Georgia Tech
  • Python for Data Science by IBM
  • The Python Bible Everything You Need to Program in Python
  • Learning Python
  • Introduction to Python: Absolute Beginner by Microsoft Python Certification

20. Python is mainly used as a hobby for game development!

According to a recently conducted survey, Python for game development is mostly used as a hobby. Development types like machine learning, data analysis, and web development focus more on the professional side of Python. Software testing, in particular, is high with 93% using Python in professional uses in that field.

However, only 36% of the surveyed people use Python professionally for game development. 64% say that they utilize Python game programming as a hobby.

21. Python 2.7 will most likely end in 2020!

According to the recent usage rates, fewer and fewer people are using Python 2.7. In fact, as reports say only 16% use Python 2 while 84% of people use Python 3. The usage of Python 3 has increased from 75% as calculated last year.

As a result, Python 2 does not receive any new features anymore. Bug fixes are definitely going to be unavailable for this version of object-oriented programming Python but volunteers who want to contribute are welcome to try.

22. There are 147,000 packages in the Python package repository!

Python literally has a package for everything! If you check out the Cheese Shop, or Python’s package repository as it is colloquially called, you will see that there are more than 147,000 packages available there. Python can be used for basically everything.

So novice users should also understand that the best way to learn Python does not have to involve starting from zero. You can simply use the packages and implement them for any project they want. Experienced developers don’t shy from doing it as well.

In 2019, Python turned 30! So during that period, Google established an increased amount of searches about Python. people were Googling “what is Python programming language” more than they were searching for Kim Kardashian or Donald Trump!

24.  Python has a sense of humor.

Something that they don’t tell you at your Python certification exam is that the language has a sense of humor. It seems natural as every spoken language in the world does have one. So, Java and C programming languages use braces, right? Python does not.

If you try to use braces, it will display a message that says “not a chance”.Since the development of Python was not a small thing, we also wish to mention a few important details about its history.

History of Python Programming Language

Python was originally conceived by Guido van Rossum in 1980. But its implementation took a while to start and was only offered in December 1989. Originally, the program was created as a replacement for ABC language that would be capable of interfacing with the Amoeba operating system.

  • Guido published the code for 0.9.0 Version in February 1991. It had options like classes in development, functions, exceptional handling already in development. Also, core databases like list, dict and str were available.
  • Version 1.0 was released in January 1994. Some of the major releases connected with this version were programming tools such as map, lambda, reduce, and filter.
  • With Version 2.0, the Python ecosystem grew as it was released in October 2000. This version added list comprehensions, which was borrowed from languages such as Haskell and SETL. This was due to the fact that these programming languages had very similar syntax as Python. This version also introduced the garbage collection system that is capable of collecting reference cycles.
  • Version 3.0 was released in December 2008. The main idea behind its release was to fix certain flaws in the language. The main principle of this version was to reduce feature duplication. Although the same philosophy was kept, it added new redundant ways of programming the same task. However, install Python for this version also meant that backward compatibility was broken. Much of the code for Python 2 is no longer compatible with the latest version. But the most important part was retaining structured, object-oriented, and functional paradigms, keeping the program a multi-paradigm language.

Besides knowing its history, it is important to understand the usage of Python.

Knowing this will help you realize how useful it can actually be.

So this next section deals with it.

Uses of Python Programming Language

Python has a very wide array of usages. It is actually everywhere around us and sometimes we don’t even realize that it is there. Due to the fact that it is really easy to learn, simple to use and write it, and clear to read, Python has found multiple usages across different spheres.

The high demand for Python makes it very supportive in the community with further supports the fact for its development.

Here are some of the uses of Python you may not know about:

  • Web Development: Having a website in today’s business world is paramount. Python programming jobs near me offer a lot of advantages when it comes to web development. Python offers a vast selection of pre-built libraries that can help with almost anything. Furthermore, Python’s code is simple and takes less time to write.
  • Internet of Things: IoT is more than important for wireless sensor networks, cyber-physical systems, and data analysis. When it comes to Python, its community can prove to be an advantage here. Python does not depend on the system you are using and can be supported by many single-board computers.
  • Machine Learning: The popularity of machine learning has been rising in recent times. Rightfully so, as it has limitless potential. If you look at Python tutorial, you will notice that it can be useful here as it has very efficient and precise syntax. It is also able to integrate with other programming languages with ease.
  • Startups: Startups are very specific, as they require more attention to create. They are not as regular companies as you require much more to get things going. So deciding on a good programming language for your startup can prove to be essential. In this case even, entry level Python programming jobs can be useful. Python is intuitive, scalable, reliable, and ubiquitous, allowing everything one needs to get a project on its way fast.

After learning about the essentials of Python and supporting it with stats, it is time to wrap things up.

To Conclude

Python is one of the most intuitive and important program languages currently available. The fact that its usage rate is rising and that it is almost at the same level as Java only further emphasizes its potential.

As Python statistics 2020 predict, we are only going to be seeing further usage of Python implemented in various other spheres. Its potential does seem limitless and only time will tell where it will head for next.

So if you ever wanted to dip your toes in Python - there’s no better time than the present!

If you want to see more cool stats make sure to check out Leftronic.