Python, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript and the C-Suite are the most popular programming languages in Romania and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
This is the finding of a study on the most popular programming languages in Eastern Europe conducted by Lemon.io, a Ukrainian start-up that acts as a job board for freelance programmers.
Lemon.io’s analysis was based on several indicators: job postings available on profile pages, market demand from vendors, particularly startups in the United States, and the knowledge of developers signing up for the Lemon .io platform to to provide their IT services.
“Developers from Romania excel at web development and custom software development. They have excellent technical skills in JavaScript, C/C++ and Python programming, and their ethics, experience of working with global brands and excellent reputation in IT service outsourcing are valued worldwide,” says Aleksandr Volodarsky, CEO and co-founder Lemon.io.
Although there are hundreds of programming languages and web development technologies on the market, only a few dozen are practically used in the daily work of tech specialists.
The choice of the required technology depends largely on the type of application desired and its complexity. At the same time, it is almost impossible to use only one programming language for a project, since each plays its own role in the successful completion of the project.
So when it comes to building a working website or an application, we’re not just talking about frontend development skills or just backend development skills, we’re talking about both together.
Front-end development refers to what is “seen”: user interface, buttons, design and colors. Back-end development refers to the back-end systems, lines of code, and servers that ensure the functionality of all applications built by front-end developers.
HTML, CSS and JavaScript are mainly used for front-end development, and the most popular frameworks (libraries) are React, Angular, Vue.js, jQuery, Bootstrap.
Many programming languages are suitable for backend development, the best known and most used being Python, PHP, Java, C++/C#, Ruby and JavaScript.
The only programming language that can be used to write both the front end and back end of an application is JavaScript via the Node.js runtime.
The most requested software technologies by Lemon.io customers are Python, Typescript, Ruby React, Node, Vue.js, React Native, Angular and Flutter.
Also, the demand for skills in Data Science (Data Science), Machine Learning (Machine Learning) and Robotics is growing exponentially as more startups are popping up that focus on innovation in different fields: from tech, pharma, z – Commerce, Games and Entertainment.
Freelance IT specialists are increasingly being sought in Romania. Such a specialist must have advanced knowledge of the most common technologies and be willing to work flexibly, well paid, but at the same time extremely competitively.
Job boards are teeming with thousands of offers for IT professionals, even though we’ve just come through summer – which isn’t exactly considered “recruiting season”.
At the beginning of September 2022, the situation on the profile pages was as follows:
Python – more than 2800 job offers
Python is a programming language commonly used to build websites and software, automate tasks, perform data analysis, but also in machine learning and robotics.
Python is a general-purpose language, meaning it can be used to create a variety of different programs and doesn’t specialize in any particular problem.
This versatility, along with its ease for beginners, has made it one of the most widely used programming languages today.
Companies like Netflix, Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Spotify use Python extensively for various projects.
“Python is one of the programming languages mostly chosen by start-up programmers. It is popular because it is a high-level, dynamic, scalable, and object-oriented programming language. Startups rely heavily on Python for its simplicity and user-friendly features. It is a budget-friendly language and a programming language familiar to many specialists,” says Aleksandr Volodarsky, CEO and co-founder of Lemon.io.
“Python is a more productive language compared to Java or C++. Since startups are always in a hurry and have a limited budget, Python is the best choice (among popular languages) to develop things faster without sacrificing quality,” emphasizes Aleksandr Volodarsky.
Java – more than 2700 job offers
Java is one of the most popular programming languages in the world and is used for GUI desktop application, mobile application, game console or application and even web server.
JavaScript – more than 2000 job offers
JavaScript is a programming language that is mainly used to introduce functionality into web pages. The JavaScript code on these pages is executed by the browser, but is also used to access embedded objects in other applications.
Suita C (C, C++, C#) – more than 1800 job offers
C is a general-purpose programming language ideal for developing firmware or portable applications. Originally intended for writing system software, C was developed by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs in the early 1970s for the Unix operating system.
C++ is a superset of the C language.
C# is a modern, general-purpose programming language that can be used to accomplish a variety of tasks and goals that span a variety of professions.
C# is mainly used on the Windows .NET framework, although it can be applied on an open source platform.
Globally, the ranking looks similar. According to Statista.com, JavaScript is in first place with 28%, followed by Java (20%) and Python (16%). Other languages worth mentioning are: PHP (8%), Kotlin, Swfit, Scala or Ruby.
Eastern European countries have gained a reputation as being a true paradise for offshore software development. Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Ukraine are the five countries that create two-thirds of the IT value chain in Eastern and Central Europe (CEE), employing a total of over a million information technology and software development specialists.
In Romania, according to Eurostat data updated in May 2022, about 200,000 specialists work in the technology sector (135,000 in software development), which is 2.6% of the Romanian labor force.
This means that Romania has the third largest base of specialists in CEE. Poland takes first place in CEE with over 400,000 specialists in the IT and software sector, followed by Ukraine with over 285,000. Hungary and the Czech Republic are below our country with around 150,000 skilled workers each.
Lemon.io currently works with over 630 programmers from over 46 countries – more than 60 specialists residing in Romania (Bucharest, Iasi, Cluj).
Lemon.io is looking for more than 100 IT specialists from our country to work remotely on projects for Silicon Valley startups.
The Ukrainian start-up aims to become the main source of income for over 1,000 developers by the end of 2022.