The COBOL programming language, created in 1959, has re-entered the top 20 of the Tiobe index. As of October 2026, it holds the 16th position, up from 23rd in October 2025. The language previously reached its peak at 8th place in August 2021 and hit a low of 47th in August 2011.
The Rust language, which debuted in 2009, climbed from 16th to 10th place over the past year, marking its highest position in the Tiobe index to date. Meanwhile, Apple-backed Swift moved to 14th place, improving from 22nd a year prior. Julia saw significant growth, rising 12 spots to reach 18th place.
According to Tiobe CEO Paul Jansen, Julia's return to the top 20 suggests more sustainable popularity compared to its previous entry three years ago. The language is gaining traction in numerical computing by balancing high performance with ease of use, effectively bridging the gap between Python and C++.
Other languages are also showing upward momentum. Dart has risen from 41st to 27th place, while OCaml moved from 38th to 26th. Despite these shifts in the top 30, the top 5 remains stable, with Python continuing to hold the first-place position it has maintained since October 2021.
