Software engineering demographics

Last updated

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]

Contents

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 titleRatio of SE to TE
Practitioners611,900Software engineers1,157,020Traditional engineers53%
Managers264,790Computer and information systems managers413,750Engineering managers + construction managers64%
Educators16,495Computer science (practical)29,310Engineering teachers56%
Technicians457,320Computer programmers516,170Engineering technicians88%

[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.

CodeDescriptionNumber

(2002)

Hourly pay

(2002)

Annual salary

(2002)

Number

(2021)

Mean hourly pay

(2021)

Mean annual salary

(2021)

15-1031Software eng., applications356,760$34.09$35.48$73,8000.7 %
15-1032Software eng., systems software255,040$35.60$36.46$75,8400.6 %
17-2011Aerospace engineers [9] 74,210$34.97$35.63$74,1101.1 %56,640$ 59.12$ 122,970
17-2021Agricultural engineers [10] 2,500$24.38$26.79$55,7302.9 %1,120$ 41.99$ 87,350
17-2031Biomedical engineers [11] 7,130$29.04$30.97$64,4201.7 %17,190$ 48.57$ 101,020
17-2041Chemical engineers [12] 32,110$34.85$36.06$75,0101.0 %24,180$ 58.58$ 121,840
17-2051Civil engineers [13] 207,480$28.88$30.29$63,0100.4 %304,310$ 45.91$ 95,490
17-2061Computer hardware engineers [14] 67,180$34.69$36.61$76,1501.1 %73,750$ 65.50$ 136,230
17-2071Electrical engineers [15] 146,180$32.78$33.88$70,4800.4 %186,020$ 51.87$ 107,890
17-2072Electronics eng., exc. computer [16] 126,020$33.62$34.43$71,6000.6 %107,170$ 55.53$ 115,490
17-2081Environmental engineers [17] 45,720$29.52$30.50$63,4400.7 %42,660$ 48.18$ 100,220
17-2111Health and safety, exc. mining [18] 34,160$27.89$28.77$59,8300.7 %22,870$ 47.93$ 99,700
17-2112Industrial engineers [19] 151,760$29.88$30.57$63,5900.3 %293,950$ 45.77$ 95,200
17-2121Marine eng., naval architects [20] 4,810$32.04$32.83$68,2802.2 %7,380$ 47.03$ 97,820
17-2131Materials engineers [21] 22,780$30.09$30.92$64,3101.0 %21,530$ 49.02$ 101,950
17-2141Mechanical engineers [22] 203,620$30.23$31.33$65,1700.4 %278,240$ 46.64$ 97,000
17-2151Mining and geological eng. [23] 5,050$29.70$31.14$64,7702.4 %7,370$ 48.29$ 100,450
17-2161Nuclear engineers [24] 15,180$39.11$39.57$82,3001.3 %12,670$ 58.54$ 121,760
17-2171Petroleum engineers [25] 11,130$40.08$41.13$85,5401.4 %22,100$ 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.

CodeDescriptionNumberHourly payAnnual salary
11-3021Computer and information systems managers264,790$40.98$43.48$90,4400.3%
11-9021Construction managers208,360$30.53$34.24$71,2100.7%
11-9041Engineering managers205,390$43.71$46.03$95,7500.3%

[ citation needed ]

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. The data shows that the combined number of chemistry and physics educators (29,610) nearly equals the number of engineering educators (29,310). It is estimated that roughly half of computer science educators emphasize the practical (software engineering), and the other half emphasize the theoretical (computer science).[ citation needed ] This means that software engineering education is 56% the size of traditional engineering education. There are more computer science educators than chemistry and physics educators combined, or engineering educators.

CodeDescriptionNumberHourly payAnnual salary
25-1021Computer science teachers, postsecondary32,990(4)(4)$55,3301.1%
25-1032Engineering teachers, postsecondary29,310(4)(4)$73,1001.3%
25-1052Chemistry teachers, postsecondary17,670(4)(4)$60,8001.3%
25-1054Physics teachers, postsecondary11,940(4)(4)$66,9601.0

[ citation needed ]

Other software and engineering roles

CodeDescriptionNumberHourly payAnnual salary
15-1051Computer systems analysts467,750$30.24$31.20$64,8900.5%
15-1041Computer support specialists478,560$18.80$20.35$42,3200.5%
15-1061Database administrators102,090$26.68$28.41$59,0800.5%
15-1071Network and computer systems administrators232,560$26.35$27.70$57,6200.4%
15-1081Network systems and data communications analysts133,460$28.09$29.51$61,3900.6%
17-3011Architectural and civil drafters101,190$17.95$18.78$39,0600.6%
17-3012Electrical and electronics drafters35,470$19.76$21.16$44,0200.8%
17-3013Mechanical drafters68,280$19.58$20.71$43,0800.9%

[ citation needed ]

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.

There are no numbers on testers in the BLS data.[ citation needed ]

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 198586, the number increased to 522,000 software and services professionals by the end of 200102. 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. [26]

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. [27]

Russia

According to the Russian government, the number of IT specialists in the country increased by 13% in 2023, reaching approximately 857,000. [28] During the initial phase of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, an estimated 100,000 IT specialists left Russia. [29]

See also

References

  1. Labs, Qubit (29 November 2022). "How Many Programmers are there in the World and in the US? [2023]". Qubit Labs. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. "Global Developer Population and Demographic Study 2016 V2". Evans Data Corporation . Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  3. "BLS 15-1252 Software Developers". U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
  4. "Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age". U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
  5. "2002 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates".
  6. "Architecture and Engineering Occupations".
  7. "Computer and Mathematical Science Occupations".
  8. "Management Occupations".
  9. "Aerospace Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  10. "Agricultural Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  11. "Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  12. "Chemical Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  13. "Civil Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  14. "Computer Hardware Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  15. "Electrical Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  16. "Electronics Engineers, Except Computer". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  17. "Environmental Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  18. "Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  19. "Industrial Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  20. "Marine Engineers and Naval Architects". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  21. "Materials Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  22. "Mechanical Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  23. "Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  24. "Nuclear Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  25. "Petroleum Engineers". www.bls.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  26. From Website of the National Association of Software and Service Companies, one of the more authoritative sources of information.
  27. "Software and Applications Programmers". Jobs and Skills Australia. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  28. "Ministry of Digital Development of Russan Federation. Demographics report". web.archive.org. 2025-05-22. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
  29. "Russia Plays Tug-of-War as Its Talented IT Workers Head for the Door". The Moscow Times. 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2025-05-22.