Software Developers Statistics

Global application software spending is forecast at $627.4B in 2024—see how that investment translates into developer jobs, tools, and skills.
Attila HorváthGeorge Lockwood

Written by Attila Horváth

Fact-checked by George Lockwood

Statistics
17
Sources
17
Sections
6
Reading time
5 minutes
Software developer work is moving alongside how organizations invest in and modernize applications. In 2024, global application software spending is forecast to reach $627.4B, while 22% of organizations planned to increase spending on application development and deployment (ADD). Across teams worldwide, many are also prioritizing faster, more reliable delivery—using agile methods, feature flags, automated testing, and infrastructure as code—to balance speed with security risk.

Key Takeaways

  1. 15.5% job growth (projected) for software developers from 2023 to 2033 in the United States
  2. 2Global IT spending on application software was forecast at $627.4 billion in 2024
  3. 312.9% year-over-year growth in worldwide application software spending in 2024
  4. 4In 2024, 22% of organizations planned to increase spending on application development and deployment (ADD) software
  5. 524% of developers reported writing automated tests as part of their daily workflow in 2024
  6. 6In 2023, 33% of developers reported working with agile methodologies (Scrum/Kanban/XP) as their primary approach
  7. 7Deployment frequency for high performers was multiple times per day in DORA 2023 report
  8. 8Global average developer salary was $119,000 in 2024 (median)
  9. 9In India, the median base salary for software engineers was ₹1,150,000 in 2024
  10. 1022% of organizations reported using feature flags as a standard deployment practice in 2024
  11. 1128% of developers said they have experienced security vulnerabilities introduced by code changes within the last 12 months (2024)
  12. 12In 2023, 43% of organizations reported using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) in production
  13. 132.7 million people were employed as software developers in the United States in 2023 (BLS OEWS employment estimate for SOC 15-1252)

Software developer demand is rising, with more app spending, modernization, and automation alongside ongoing security risk.

Related reading

01Labor Force

1
  1. 15.5% job growth (projected) for software developers from 2023 to 2033 in the United States

More related reading

02Market Size

7
  1. 1Global IT spending on application software was forecast at $627.4 billion in 2024
  2. 212.9% year-over-year growth in worldwide application software spending in 2024
  3. 3In 2024, 22% of organizations planned to increase spending on application development and deployment (ADD) software
  4. 4In 2024, 26% of surveyed organizations reported they are actively modernizing application architectures
  5. 5The market size for DevOps tools was $5.78 billion in 2023
  6. 6In 2023, 3.0% of all global IT professionals were working as software developers (ISCO-08 25)
  7. 7Canada had 223,000 software developers employed in 2022

More related reading

03Performance Metrics

3
  1. 124% of developers reported writing automated tests as part of their daily workflow in 2024
  2. 2In 2023, 33% of developers reported working with agile methodologies (Scrum/Kanban/XP) as their primary approach
  3. 3Deployment frequency for high performers was multiple times per day in DORA 2023 report

04Compensation

2
  1. 1Global average developer salary was $119,000in 2024 (median)
  2. 2In India, the median base salary for software engineers was ₹1,150,000 in 2024

More related reading

05Industry Overview

3
  1. 122% of organizations reported using feature flags as a standard deployment practice in 2024
  2. 228% of developers said they have experienced security vulnerabilities introduced by code changes within the last 12 months (2024)
  3. 3In 2023, 43% of organizations reported using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) in production

More related reading

06Workforce Supply

1
  1. 12.7 million people were employed as software developers in the United States in 2023 (BLS OEWS employment estimate for SOC 15-1252)

Cite this report

This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.

APA
Attila Horváth. (2026, September 21). Software Developers Statistics. Sigmadax. https://sigmadax.com/software-developers-statistics
MLA
Attila Horváth. "Software Developers Statistics." Sigmadax, 21 Sep 2026, https://sigmadax.com/software-developers-statistics.
Chicago
Attila Horváth. 2026. "Software Developers Statistics." Sigmadax. https://sigmadax.com/software-developers-statistics.

Sources and references

17 datasets cited across this report. Attribution is report-level.

bls.govgartner.comsurvey.stackoverflow.colhh.comlevels.fyiharness.ioveracode.comprecedenceresearch.comitu.intdora.devhashicorp.comwww150.statcan.gc.ca

5 additional datasets are cited and not shown individually.