# TIOBE April 2026: C Takes Second Place, Python Losing Ground, Rust Growth Slows
The TIOBE Index for April 2026 confirms Python's lead with a 20.97% share, but C has solidified second place, trailing by 8.63 percentage points. Since the start of the year, the top 10 has seen changes: SQL climbed from 9th to 8th, while R dropped from 8th to 9th. Full list:
- Python
- C
- C++
- Java
- C#
- JavaScript
- Visual Basic
- SQL
- R
- Delphi/Object Pascal
The ranking is based on analysis of search queries on Google, Bing, Wikipedia, Amazon, YouTube, and Baidu, plus mentions in news, blogs, and social media. It reflects the community's interest in these languages.
Python's Trajectory and the Resurgence of Legacy Languages
Python peaked in July last year at 26.98%, but its share has steadily declined since then. By April, it had shrunk to 20.97%. In March 2025, Ada, Fortran, Delphi, and COBOL returned to the top 20—languages used in legacy software for critical infrastructure. Assembly has been pushed out by Ada in the second ten.
Specialized languages are gaining traction: R climbed from 14th to 9th over the year, competing with Python in data science. Perl is experiencing a renaissance—from 19th to 12th since early 2025, occasionally cracking the top 10. It's popular for automation scripts.
Rust: Slowdown After the Peak
Rust sits at 16th in April 2026. It entered the top 20 in 2020, hit 13th at the start of 2026, but slid to 16th over three months. Paul Jansen, TIOBE CEO, notes signs of stabilizing growth rates. Despite advantages in performance and memory safety, Rust is tough for non-experts.
- High entry barrier: The borrow checker and ownership model demand deep understanding.
- Niche appeal: Suited for systems programming, where zero-cost abstractions are prized.
- Competition: C/C++ dominate legacy codebases, while Go is simpler for concurrency.
Alternative Explanations for Rust's Decline
The drop could be an artifact of TIOBE's methodology, which focuses on search queries. GitHub data from January 2026 shows a shift toward typed languages due to AI: 94% of LLM compilation errors are type errors. Forbes in March 2026 called Rust a "safety belt" for AI-generated code, where strict typing catches unexpected bugs.
Key Takeaways
- Python leads but is losing share from its 26.98% peak—competition from R and Perl is growing in niche areas.
- C holds steady at second; legacy languages (Ada, COBOL) remain relevant for maintenance.
- Rust at 16th: growth slowed by complexity, despite hype in safety-critical code.
- TIOBE measures search interest, not GitHub activity or job market trends.
- AI is pushing toward typed languages: Rust benefits in error-prone code generation.
— Editorial Team
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