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Software engineering demographics

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Software engineers make up a significant portion of the global workforce. As of 2022, there are an estimated 26.9 million professional software engineers worldwide, up from 21 million in 2016.[1][2]

By country

United States

In 2023, there were an estimated 1.6 million [3] professional software developers in North America. There are 166 million people [4] employed in the US workforce, making software developers 0.96% of the total workforce.

Summary

Role # SE title # TE title Ratio of SE to TE
Practitioners 611,900 Software engineers 1,157,020 Traditional engineers 53%
Managers 264,790 Computer and information systems managers 413,750 Engineering managers + construction managers 64%
Educators 16,495 Computer science (practical) 29,310 Engineering teachers 56%
Technicians 457,320 Computer programmers 516,170 Engineering technicians 88%

[5][6][7][8]

Software engineers vs. traditional engineers

The following two tables compare the number of software engineers (611,900 in 2002) versus the number of traditional engineers (1,157,020 in 2002).

There are another 1,500,000 people in system analysis, system administration, and computer support, many of whom might be called software engineers. Many systems analysts manage software development teams, and as analysis is an important software engineering role, many of them may be considered software engineers in the near future. This means that the number of software engineers may actually be much higher.

It is important to note that the number of software engineers declined by 5 to 10 percent from 2000 to 2002.

Code Description Number

(2002)

Hourly pay

(2002)

Annual salary

(2002)

Number

(2021)

Mean hourly pay

(2021)

Mean annual salary

(2021)

15-1031 Software eng., applications 356,760 $34.09 $35.48 $73,800 0.7 %
15-1032 Software eng., systems software 255,040 $35.60 $36.46 $75,840 0.6 %
17-2011 Aerospace engineers[9] 74,210 $34.97 $35.63 $74,110 1.1 % 56,640 $ 59.12 $ 122,970
17-2021 Agricultural engineers[10] 2,500 $24.38 $26.79 $55,730 2.9 % 1,120 $ 41.99 $ 87,350
17-2031 Biomedical engineers[11] 7,130 $29.04 $30.97 $64,420 1.7 % 17,190 $ 48.57 $ 101,020
17-2041 Chemical engineers[12] 32,110 $34.85 $36.06 $75,010 1.0 % 24,180 $ 58.58 $ 121,840
17-2051 Civil engineers[13] 207,480 $28.88 $30.29 $63,010 0.4 % 304,310 $ 45.91 $ 95,490
17-2061 Computer hardware engineers[14] 67,180 $34.69 $36.61 $76,150 1.1 % 73,750 $ 65.50 $ 136,230
17-2071 Electrical engineers[15] 146,180 $32.78 $33.88 $70,480 0.4 % 186,020 $ 51.87 $ 107,890
17-2072 Electronics eng., exc. computer[16] 126,020 $33.62 $34.43 $71,600 0.6 % 107,170 $ 55.53 $ 115,490
17-2081 Environmental engineers[17] 45,720 $29.52 $30.50 $63,440 0.7 % 42,660 $ 48.18 $ 100,220
17-2111 Health and safety, exc. mining[18] 34,160 $27.89 $28.77 $59,830 0.7 % 22,870 $ 47.93 $ 99,700
17-2112 Industrial engineers[19] 151,760 $29.88 $30.57 $63,590 0.3 % 293,950 $ 45.77 $ 95,200
17-2121 Marine eng., naval architects[20] 4,810 $32.04 $32.83 $68,280 2.2 % 7,380 $ 47.03 $ 97,820
17-2131 Materials engineers[21] 22,780 $30.09 $30.92 $64,310 1.0 % 21,530 $ 49.02 $ 101,950
17-2141 Mechanical engineers[22] 203,620 $30.23 $31.33 $65,170 0.4 % 278,240 $ 46.64 $ 97,000
17-2151 Mining and geological eng.[23] 5,050 $29.70 $31.14 $64,770 2.4 % 7,370 $ 48.29 $ 100,450
17-2161 Nuclear engineers[24] 15,180 $39.11 $39.57 $82,300 1.3 % 12,670 $ 58.54 $ 121,760
17-2171 Petroleum engineers[25] 11,130 $40.08 $41.13 $85,540 1.4 % 22,100 $ 70.06 $ 145,720

Computer managers vs. construction and engineering managers

Computer and information system managers (264,790) manage software projects, as well as computer operations. Similarly, Construction and engineering managers (413,750) oversee engineering projects, manufacturing plants, and construction sites. Computer management is 64% the size of construction and engineering management.

Code Description Number Hourly pay Annual salary
11-3021 Computer and information systems managers 264,790 $40.98 $43.48 $90,440 0.3%
11-9021 Construction managers 208,360 $30.53 $34.24 $71,210 0.7%
11-9041 Engineering managers 205,390 $43.71 $46.03 $95,750 0.3%

Software engineering educators vs. engineering educators

Most people working in the field of computer science, whether making software systems (software engineering) or studying the theoretical and mathematical facts of software systems (computer science), acquire degrees in computer science. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2023 data), there were approximately 44,800 postsecondary computer science teachers and 50,300 engineering teachers, indicating that the computer science educator workforce is nearly 89% as large as that of engineering educators. The combined number of postsecondary chemistry (25,400) and physics (17,100) teachers totaled 42,500, slightly less than the number of computer science educators.[26]

Code Description Number Hourly pay Annual salary
25-1021 Computer science teachers, postsecondary 32,990 (4) (4) $55,330 1.1%
25-1032 Engineering teachers, postsecondary 29,310 (4) (4) $73,100 1.3%
25-1052 Chemistry teachers, postsecondary 17,670 (4) (4) $60,800 1.3%
25-1054 Physics teachers, postsecondary 11,940 (4) (4) $66,960 1.0

Other software and engineering roles

Code Description Number Hourly pay Annual salary
15-1051 Computer systems analysts 467,750 $30.24 $31.20 $64,890 0.5%
15-1041 Computer support specialists 478,560 $18.80 $20.35 $42,320 0.5%
15-1061 Database administrators 102,090 $26.68 $28.41 $59,080 0.5%
15-1071 Network and computer systems administrators 232,560 $26.35 $27.70 $57,620 0.4%
15-1081 Network systems and data communications analysts 133,460 $28.09 $29.51 $61,390 0.6%
17-3011 Architectural and civil drafters 101,190 $17.95 $18.78 $39,060 0.6%
17-3012 Electrical and electronics drafters 35,470 $19.76 $21.16 $44,020 0.8%
17-3013 Mechanical drafters 68,280 $19.58 $20.71 $43,080 0.9%

Relation to IT demographics

Software engineers are part of the much larger software, hardware, application, and operations community. In 2000 in the U.S., there were about 680,000 software engineers and about 10,000,000 IT workers. As of early 2025, there are an estimated 47.2 million software developers worldwide, representing a 50% increase from 31 million in Q1 2022.[27]


India

There has been a healthy growth in the number of India's IT professionals over the past few years. From a base of 6,800 knowledge workers in 1985–86, the number increased to 522,000 software and services professionals by the end of 2001–02. It is estimated that out of these 528,000 knowledge workers, almost 170,000 are working in the IT software and services export industry; nearly 106,000 are working in the IT enabled services and over 230,000 in user organizations.[28]

Australia

In May 2024, the Australian government reported that 169,300 Australians are employed as software and applications programmers, 17% of who are women. The role grew annually by 8,300 workers.[29]

Russia

According to the Russian government, the number of IT specialists in the country increased by 13% in 2023, reaching approximately 857,000.[30] During the initial phase of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, an estimated 100,000 IT specialists left Russia.[31]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Labs, Qubit (29 November 2022). "How Many Programmers are there in the World and in the US? [2023"]. https://qubit-labs.com/how-many-programmers-in-the-world/. 
  2. ↑ "Global Developer Population and Demographic Study 2016 V2". Evans Data Corporation. http://evansdata.com/reports/viewRelease.php?reportID=9. Retrieved 19 January 2017. 
  3. ↑ "BLS 15-1252 Software Developers". https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151252.htm#nat. 
  4. ↑ "Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age". https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.htm. 
  5. ↑ "2002 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates". http://www.bls.gov/oes/2002/oes_nat.htm. 
  6. ↑ "Architecture and Engineering Occupations". http://www.bls.gov/oes/2002/oes_17Ar.htm. 
  7. ↑ "Computer and Mathematical Science Occupations". http://www.bls.gov/oes/2002/oes_15Co.htm. 
  8. ↑ "Management Occupations". http://www.bls.gov/oes/2002/oes_11Ma.htm. 
  9. ↑ "Aerospace Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172011.htm. 
  10. ↑ "Agricultural Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172021.htm. 
  11. ↑ "Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172031.htm. 
  12. ↑ "Chemical Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172041.htm. 
  13. ↑ "Civil Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172051.htm. 
  14. ↑ "Computer Hardware Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172061.htm. 
  15. ↑ "Electrical Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172071.htm. 
  16. ↑ "Electronics Engineers, Except Computer" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172072.htm. 
  17. ↑ "Environmental Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172081.htm. 
  18. ↑ "Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172111.htm. 
  19. ↑ "Industrial Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172112.htm. 
  20. ↑ "Marine Engineers and Naval Architects" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172121.htm. 
  21. ↑ "Materials Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172131.htm. 
  22. ↑ "Mechanical Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172141.htm. 
  23. ↑ "Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172151.htm. 
  24. ↑ "Nuclear Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172161.htm. 
  25. ↑ "Petroleum Engineers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172171.htm. 
  26. ↑ "Postsecondary Teachers" (in en-us). https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/postsecondary-teachers.htm. 
  27. ↑ Team, SlashData (2025-05-02). "There are 47.2 million developers in the world - Global developer population trends 2025" (in en). https://www.slashdata.co/post/global-developer-population-trends-2025-how-many-developers-are-there. 
  28. ↑ From Website of the National Association of Software and Service Companies, one of the more authoritative sources of information.
  29. ↑ "Software and Applications Programmers". https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/labour-market-insights/occupations/2613-software-and-applications-programmers. 
  30. ↑ "Ministry of Digital Development of Russan Federation. Demographics report". 2025-05-22. https://t.me/mintsifry/2210. 
  31. ↑ "Russia Plays Tug-of-War as Its Talented IT Workers Head for the Door" (in en). 2022-04-01. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/01/russia-plays-tug-of-war-as-its-talented-it-workers-head-for-the-door-a77160. 



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