The preeminence of information technology in shaping the future is a universally accepted notion. Our experts were keen to analyze trends in the European population's utilization of programming languages to solve a variety of problems.

The utilization of information technology and programming expertise has become a requisite for numerous occupations. According to Eurostat, the percentage of individuals capable of writing code surged from (5.82%) in 2021 to (6.51%) in 2023.

In 2023, Norway led in Europe in coding proficiency with 13.39% individuals who have written code in a programming language, followed by the Netherlands (11.67%) and Denmark (11.46%). Compared to 2021, these countries saw increases of (+1.13 percentage poing (pp)), (+2.17pp), and (+0.54pp) respectively.

Beyond the familiar frontrunners, a group of countries is rapidly catching up in coding skills. Serbia has experienced the most pronounced increase (+3.29pp) since 2021, followed by Croatia (+2.42pp), the Netherlands (+2.17pp), Portugal (+2.14pp), Estonia (+2.10pp), and Ireland and Luxembourg (both +1.98pp).

Historically, large cities have exhibited a higher concentration of programming professionals compared to small towns, suburban and rural areas. The EU average reveals a (+2.96 pp) discrepancy in favor of large cities. While in Finland, Estonia, and Cyprus large cities exceed the share of small towns (in Finland and Estonia more than 2 times, in Cyprus 5 times), Belgium and Malta present contrasting patterns with a higher prevalence of programmers in small towns.

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The IT industry has historically attracted a predominantly young workforce. Nevertheless, emerging trends indicate a shift in this demographic. Over the past two years, a notable increase in programming roles has been observed among older age groups, with a 15% growth in the 35-44 bracket, and even more pronounced growth of 19% and 22% for the 45-54 and 65-74 groups respectively.

Busting the myth: IT workers are, in fact, family-oriented. EU figures from 2023 show that 7.28% of households with children have at least one IT professional family member, outpacing the 6.19% rate among childless homes. Leading the pack are Croatia, Czechia, Norway, Portugal and Ireland, where IT professionals are particularly likely to have families with children.

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