Total number of software developers worldwide: where to find the best?
The number of software developers in metropolises like San Francisco, London, and Singapore has spiked in the past decade, and so has the demand for top talent.
We’re entering a new technological era — driven by AI — and organisations seek dedicated professionals with niche skills who can help them build innovative products and stay competitive.
Some of the most talented and specialised engineers live in established and emerging tech hubs such as Bangalore, India, and Shenzhen, China. Coincidentally, these cities have also seen the fastest growth in developer numbers in recent years.
Have China and India claimed the throne over the US as the countries with the largest number of developers globally?
Let’s start by answering the pressing question…
How many software developers are there in the world?
Today, there are approximately 28.7 million developers in the world. Most are concentrated in three countries: China, India, and the US.
- China has the largest software development community, with 7 million professionals working in cities like Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai.
- India is home to 5.8 million developers who reside in thriving hubs like Bangalore — known as ‘The Silicon Valley of Asia’ — Hyderabad and Chennai.
- The US was once the nation with the highest number of developers in the world. Today, the Northern American country has 4.4 million engineers.
What are the top destinations with the highest number of software developers?
Some of the best software development countries with the largest engineering population include India, Poland, and Colombia, among others.
India
Number of software developers in India: 5.8 million.
India is synonymous with world-class tech talent and is a popular location for organisations looking to offshore software development.
The country provides CTOs and other business leaders access to highly skilled engineers known for their extensive experience working with Western companies. India produces 1.5 million engineers yearly, ensuring a steady influx of young and driven professionals to its vast talent pool.
Indian developers are known for possessing a high English proficiency and are well-trained and qualified with the skills, technologies, and programming languages tech leaders seek.
Besides its almost six million software developers, about 200,000 tech graduates join the Indian market annually. Indeed, the country has the highest number of STEM graduates in the world, with a share of 34% of students picking these degrees.
The software development rates in India are between €15–€35/hour.
China
Number of software developers in China: 7 million.
China has become a familiar name in terms of software development services. Its software development industry revenue is anticipated to grow at an average annual rate of 7.7% over the five years leading up to 2029, reaching $2.5 trillion.
The service costs per hour in China are around €20–€45, which is affordable compared to destinations like the US, Australia, or Western Europe.
Regardless of the nature of the project, tech leaders can rest assured that by offshoring software development to China, they’ll find the right developers to handle it. Other countries may be ahead, but no country’s software developer population is growing as fast as China’s.
Poland
Number of software developers in Poland: 300,000 developers.
Poland is one of the most developer-dense countries in Europe, with almost 8 engineers per 1,000 people!
Polish tech professionals are highly respected in the industry and are known for their expertise in building software for international companies, especially in project-based assignments.
Polish developers’ technical expertise is widely acclaimed. Several rankings acknowledge their competence, as they qualify among the top countries based on their knowledge and experience.
Given that software engineers in Western countries can earn almost three times more than their counterparts in Poland — $180,000 vs. $63,000 — Polish talent offers significant cost-effectiveness.
As per hourly rate, the average offshore software development rate in Poland is between €21–€58.
Ukraine
Number of software developers in Ukraine: 200,000 developers.
Despite the ongoing conflict and challenging socio-economic situation, Western organisations continue to rely on Ukrainian tech talent for their expertise and resilience.
Even with power outages and disruptions affecting the daily jobs of thousands of engineers, the software development industry in Ukraine has shown signs of recovery after only a brief decline.
The past decade has been transformative for Ukraine’s IT industry. Between 2013 and 2023, IT services exports surged from $1.3 billion to $6.7 billion. Over the same period, the share of IT services in total service exports grew from 5.7% to an impressive 41%.
Software development plays a significant role in Ukraine’s economy, establishing cities like Kyiv and Lviv as emerging tech hubs. In a country traditionally known for its agricultural exports, the IT industry became the second-largest export sector in 2023.
The average offshore software development rate in Ukraine comes around €22–€40/hour.
Romania
Number of software developers in Romania: 200,000 developers.
Romania has recently become an attractive destination for businesses seeking top software development talent without breaking the bank.
With a talent pool already in the hundreds of thousands, Romania sees over 5,000 IT fresh graduates entering the market each year. This influx highlights the country’s abundance of knowledgeable and skilled software developers in tech hubs such as Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca.
While the software development market in Romania is smaller than in Poland — one of its biggest competitors in Central and Eastern Europe — its service rates are more attractive.
The average software development rate is between €20–€40/hour, depending on requirements and the expertise field.
Argentina
Number of software developers in Argentina: 115,000 developers.
Argentina is well-known for its vast pool of talented developers with extensive experience working with US and Europen based companies.
With its unstable socio-political situation, Argentina’s IT industry is still experiencing growth. Revenue in the IT market is expected to rise from $3.1 billion in 2024 to almost $3.8 billion by 2029, with approximately $700 million designated for IT outsourcing services.
The average software development rates in the country can range from €26–€52/hour, depending on skills and seniority. These rates can be expensive compared to other talent-rich locations like India, where organisations tend to find more specialised professionals at lower rates.
Brazil
Number of software developers in Brazil: 500,000 developers.
Brazil is one of the leading Latin American countries in the software development industry, currently ranking 10th globally in IT market value with $49.9 billion.
A significant part of the success and growth of its industry comes from Brazil’s rich talent pool, which includes 500,000 software developers and approximately 15,000 tech graduates entering the workforce each year.
The average rate for software developers in Brazil is around €26–€44/hour.
Hire niche tech talent and set up a team abroad that feels in-house
DOWNLOAD EBOOKHow to hire the best software development talent?
The demand for software developers has been rising for quite some time and shows no signs of slowing down.
If you’ve read this far, chances are you’re part of that demand and want to hire the best software development talent. So, what route should you take?
To ensure you get the right professionals to build or extend your tech team, you must set your priorities straight:
- If you need short-term help to finalise a project, consider hiring software developers through outsourcing or freelancers.
- If geographical proximity is essential for your organisation, nearshoring might be the best fit for you.
- If you want to access world-class tech talent and build a team with proficiency in niche programming skills, offshoring is the way to go.
See Nextpoint’s example. They were challenged to find specialised developers in the US and contacted us to build an offshore Ruby in Rails team in Bangalore, India.
The results? The company accelerated product delivery and launched a groundbreaking serverless product.
At The Scalers we help top organisations in multiple industries build, extend, and scale their tech teams with the top 1% of Indian engineering talent. We not only help our partners recruit elite developers but also offer them hands-off operations: we take care of recruiting, onboarding, administrative, legal, infrastructure, and other (daunting) tasks for them.
If you’re interested in how we can assist you in setting up a team tailored to your unique needs, fill out this form, and one of our senior executives will contact you promptly.
How we helped a Legal SaaS company scale its Ruby on Rails team to deliver a groundbreaking product
DOWNLOAD CASE STUDYPutting it all together
Over the last three decades, the software development industry has consistently provided unique and unparalleled opportunities, fostering broader development and growth in many emerging countries.
This growth is reflected in the increasing value of the offshore market, which has become a crucial part of the global software development landscape. By 2026, the global offshore software development market will reach €372 billion, indicating a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5% over the next five years.
This trend suggests a hopeful outlook for an increase in the percentage of developers worldwide, not only in terms of numbers but also in talent and specialisation, as competition continues to grow.
If you’ve found this article helpful, we invite you to read our guide on hiring offshore developers, as well as the related articles you’ll find below.
See you on the next one!
