C# Surges Towards Java in Popularity, Named Tiobe's Fastest-Growing Language

Programming Languages

C#, Microsoft's cross-platform language for .NET, is rapidly gaining on Java in popularity, becoming the fastest-growing language on the Tiobe index and a contender for Language of the Year.

Microsoft's rapidly expanding language for .NET, C#, is on the verge of surpassing Java in popularity for the first time, according to Tiobe.

C#, Microsoft’s object-oriented, cross-platform, and open-source language developed for the .NET platform, has been identified as the fastest-growing language on Tiobe’s monthly programming language popularity index. Tiobe suggests that C# could eventually overtake Java in overall popularity.

In the latest Tiobe Programming Community index, C# achieved a rating of 7.65%, marking a significant increase of 2.67 percentage points from the previous year. This high growth rate positions C# as a strong contender for Tiobe's Language of the Year for 2025, an accolade awarded to the language with the most substantial ratings increase throughout the year. C# previously earned this award in 2023.

Tiobe CEO Paul Jansen commented on C#'s remarkable achievement: “Java and C# have long competed in similar domains. It now appears that C# has eliminated every reason not to choose it over Java: it is now cross-platform, open source, and incorporates all the modern language features developers desire. While the financial sector largely remains dominated by Java, other areas show an equal distribution between Java and C#.” Jansen further emphasized Microsoft's strong backing, noting that C# remains its most supported programming language.

Historically, C# has never surpassed Java in the Tiobe index. However, the current difference between the two languages is less than one percentage point, with Java holding the fourth rank at an 8.54% rating. Until recently, Python's growth figures were unmatched, but its ascent now appears to have plateaued, according to Jansen. Python currently leads the Tiobe index with a 23.37% rating this month.

Tiobe, a software quality services company, compiles its ratings based on various factors, including the global number of skilled engineers, available courses, and third-party vendors for each language. The company leverages data from popular websites such as Google, Amazon, Wikipedia, Bing, and over 20 others to calculate its comprehensive ratings.

Tiobe Index Top 10 for November 2025:

  1. Python, 23.37%
  2. C, 9.68%
  3. C++, 8.95%
  4. Java, 8.54%
  5. C#, 7.65%
  6. JavaScript, 3.42%
  7. Visual Basic, 3.31%
  8. Delphi/Object Pascal, 2.06%
  9. Perl, 1.84%
  10. SQL, 1.8%

The Go language, which was ranked eighth last month, has dropped to 11th place in Tiobe's November index, with a rating of 1.72%, down from 1.92% last month.

In contrast, the alternative Pypl Popularity of Programming Language Index gauges language popularity by analyzing the frequency of language tutorial searches on Google.

Pypl Index Top 10 for November 2025:

  1. Python, 27.3%
  2. Java, 12.47%
  3. C/C++, 11.5%
  4. Objective-C, 9.65%
  5. R, 5.7%
  6. JavaScript, 5.6%
  7. C#, 3.62%
  8. Swift, 3.41%
  9. PHP, 3.04%
  10. Rust, 2.62%