Software engineering demographics

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%

^{[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.

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

^{[citation needed]}

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%

^{[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 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.^[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]

See also

• Software engineering
• List of software engineering topics
• Software engineering economics
• Software engineering professionalism

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.