This is the second annual Django Developers Survey, conducted September – October, 2022, as a collaborative effort between the Django Software Foundation and JetBrains. To help us get a better idea of the current state of the framework and the ecosystem around it, 4,900 Django users and enthusiasts from 248 countries and regions took the survey.
Check out the results of the Django Developer Survey in 2021.
The majority of users migrated to the latest version 4.1 but almost half of Django developers still rely on the 3.2 LTS version.
Django versions 3.1 and lower are used by experienced Python developers, while newcomers use only the newest versions.
For new projects, what version of Django do you use?
70%28% 3%The latest stable releaseThe latest LTS releaseOther
How often do you upgrade Django in your projects?
44%14%30% 5% 7%Every stable releaseEvery monthly point releaseLTS onlyAn unsupported version of DjangoOther
Django developers usually upgrade their projects with either every stable release (44%) or only with long-term support (LTS) (32%).
Technologies and frameworks
What database backend(s) do you use?> 100%
79%40%28%10% 2% 2% 6%PostgreSQLSQLiteMySQLMariaDBOracleNone / I’m not sureOther
Django officially supports the following databases: PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB, and Oracle. Since last year’s survey, PostgreSQL has become even more popular, with shares increasing by 2 percentage points.
Only 6% of developers use databases that are not supported by Django. The database mentioned most often by these developers is MongoDB.
What cache backend do you use?> 100%
54%17%16%16% 8% 1%27%RedisLocal MemoryDatabaseMemcachedFilesystemOtherNone
Practiced by more than half of Django developers, caching with Redis is the most popular. Developers who use Redis as a cache backend use TypeScript more often than those who choose other caching methods.
PostgreSQL database users prefer Redis and Memcached.
Among SQLite users, the biggest share is Filesystem, with local memory being the second most popular.
What GeoDjango backend(s) do you use?>100%
72%22% 6% 2% 1% 1%None / I’m not surePostGISMySQLSpatiaLiteOracleOther
The use of GeoDjango backend highly correlates with the choice of database backend.
What Django contrib apps do you find most useful?> 100%
85%80%50%50%48%33%26%25%17%16%11%10% 3% 3% 1% 5%adminauthpostgressessionsstaticfilesmessagescontenttypesredirectshumanizesitesGeoDjangositemapflatpagessyndicationOtherNone / I’m not sure
More than 80% of respondents chose admin or auth, which makes them the most popular contrib apps for the second year in a row.
What are your 3 favorite core components?> 100%
76%50%33%31%25%14%13%13%10% 8% 5% 5% 4% 2% 1%ModelsAdminAuthenticationMigrationsViewsDjango management commandsFormsTemplatesThird-party ecosystemURLsSignalsTestingCachingI’m not sureOther
The favorite core component among respondents is Models. It was chosen by 76% of Django users, which is 4 percentage points higher than the previous year.
What template engine do you use?> 100%
DjangotemplatesJinja2OtherNoneDjango templates81%Jinja214%Other2%None13%
What test frameworks do you use?> 100%
41%36%31%21%10% 6% 5% 3% 3% 2% 1% 1%26%pytestunittestpytest-djangocoverageSeleniumtoxCypressPlaywrightdjango-test-plusnoseTestCafeOtherNone
What JavaScript framework(s) do you use?>100%
36%/37%32%/37%25%/28%16%/5% 8%/10% 6%/3% 3%/0% 1%/1% 1%/1% 4%/4%19%/20%ReactjQueryVuehtmxAngularAlpine.jsSvelteBackboneEmberOtherNone
Released in 2020, htmx is now getting more attention. The usage of this JavaScript framework has tripled since our previous survey in August 2021. Additionally, Alpine.js has doubled its share, although this value is still too small to make any specific conclusions.
Compared to last year's results, the share of jQuery decreased by 5 percentage points.
It’s interesting to note that frameworks that used to be leaders are beginning to lose their share to newly emerging ones.
What CSS framework(s) do you use?>100%
62%/68%22%/15%13%/14% 9%/12% 6%/6% 2%/3% 2%/2% 1%/2% 1%/1% 5%/4%17%/16%BootstrapTailwind CSSPure CSSMaterial Design/LiteBulmaSemantic UIUI KitFoundationSkeletonOtherNone
Since last year, the share of Tailwind CSS has increased 7 percentage points, rising from 15% to 22%. Those who use Tailwind CSS tend to use JavaScript frameworks, such as Alpine.js, htmx, React, and Vue, more often than Bootstrap users. Bootstrap users use jQuery almost twice as often.
What are your 5 favorite third-party Django packages?> 100%
60%28%28%18%17%17%16%16%16%15%djangorestframeworkdjango-celerydjango-debug-toolbardjango-cors-headersdjango-filterdjango-allauthpytest-djangodjango-redisdjango-extensionsdjango-crispyforms
All results ▼
Which async technologies do you use?> 100%
25%23%18%15%15%11% 9% 5% 4% 1% 1% 4%47%ASGIasyncioFastAPIChannelsUvicornDjango's async viewsDaphneasgirefStarletteHypercornAnyioOtherNone
Half of Django developers write asynchronous (async) views. However, whether or not respondents use async technologies does not necessarily correlate with their developer experience.
Check out more about Django asynchronous support here.
Syntax and Documentation
Do you currently use type hints in your Django code?
Yes
46%29%25%
The more experienced developers use type hints significantly more often than those developers with less experience. Overall, 46% of Django developers use type hints.
What type checker do you use?>100%
35%23% 4% 5%40%MypyPyright / PylancePytypeOtherNone
How much do you contribute to the documentation for the software you’re involved in?
A lot, or oftenSome, orsometimesA little, or hardlyeverNone, or neverA lot, or often22%Some, or sometimes28%A little, or hardly ever26%None, or never25%
What do you use to host and publish documentation for the software you’re involved in?>100%
43%29%21%19% 3% 8%23%ReadmeSelf-hostedRead the DocsGitHub PagesGitBookOtherWe don’t publish documentation
Bigger teams are more likely to document software, such as on Github Pages which is mostly used by bigger teams.
Smaller teams publish documentation less often.
What systems and languages do you use to create and build documentation?>100%
64%37%24%17%14%13% 8%19%MarkdownSwaggerSphinxrSTPostmanwikiOtherNone
What principles do you adopt in the documentation for the software you’re involved in?>100%
81%27%14%13%12%10% 3% 1% 4%No explicitly adopted information architectureFormal documentation reviewTopic-based structureCode will not be merged without relevant documentationExplicit style guide for contributorsInclusive languageDiátaxisDITAOther
Languages and other web-frameworks
Is Python your main programming language?
90%Primary
10%Secondary
What other programming language(s) do you use in addition to Python?> 100%
75%67%49%39%25%15%13%12%12% 9% 8% 3% 3% 7% 3%JavaScriptHTML / CSSSQLBash/ShellTypeScriptC / C++JavaPHPGoC#RustRubyROtherNone
What is your primary programming language?> 100%
23%12%11%10% 9% 7% 5% 3% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1%11%JavaScriptJavaTypeScriptPHPC / C++C#GoHTML / CSSRustSQLRubyBash / ShellROther
This question was only shown to those who chose Python as a secondary language.
Other than Django, what web frameworks do you use?> 100%
33%29%25%25%24% 8% 8% 4% 4% 3%React.jsFlaskJQueryFastAPIVue.jsExpressAngularSpringLaravelASP.NET Core
All results ▼
Which web framework do you use the most?> 100%
83% 5% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 5%DjangoReact.jsVue.jsFastAPIFlaskAngularSpringOther
Resources
Which of the following do you use to follow Django development?> 100%
59%26%20%20%18%15%11%11%10% 9% 7% 6% 4% 1% 3%16%djangoproject.comStack OverflowRedditTwitterYouTubeDjango News NewsletterHacker NewsFriendsDjango ForumPodcastsRSSGoogle GroupsDiscordIRCOtherI don’t follow Django development
The biggest users of YouTube and Stack Overflow are developers who have worked for less than 2 years.
Those with 6 or more years of work experience almost never use YouTube for Django learning purposes. They typically read djangoproject.com and Django News.
Which of the following do you prefer to use to learn Django?> 100%
80%45%40%31%18% 9% 5% 5% 3%djangoproject.comBlogsYouTubeBooksFriends / co-workersPaid videosPodcastsOtherNone
Please think of the web resources you read or follow for Django, excluding the official Django channels> 100%
YouTubechannelsBlogsPodcastsTwitterhandlesForumsOtherYouTube channels50%Blogs33%Podcasts33%Twitter handles16%Forums12%Other19%
What web resources do you read or follow for Django, excluding the official Django channels?
YouTube
Blogs
Podcasts
Python Versions
What version(s) of Python do you use?> 100%
2022
2021
58%/13%51%/60%36%/53%17%/31% 8%/21% 4%/6% 5%/0% 2%/2%3.103.93.83.73.6 - 3.02.xOtherI’m not sure
According to the official Python Developers Survey, Django developers prefer to use the newest Python versions more often than Python developers in general. This is particularly the case with the usage of version 3.9, which is 29 percentage points higher with Django (51%) than with Python in general (22%).
What do you typically use to upgrade your Python version?>100
39%37%32%28% 6% 4% 3% 2% 3% 2%OS-provided PythonPython.orgDocker containerspyenvAnacondaBuild from sourceAutomatic updates via a cloud providerSomeone else manages Python updates for meOtherI don't update
Developers who visit python.org tend to upgrade Python to every stable release more often than those who use OS-provided Python.
Developers located in Asia prefer using python.org twice as much as developers in general (27% vs 13%), while those located in Europe choose OS-provided Python 22 percentage points more (55% vs. 33%).
Which of the following tools do you use to isolate Python environments?> 100%
2022
2021
55%/44%43%/55%42%/40%21%/23%19%/13% 7%/8% 2%/3% 3%/2% 3%/3%venvVirtualenvDockerPipenvPoetryCondaVagrant / virtual machinesOtherNone
There has been a 6 percentage point rise in Poetry’s share from 13% in 2021 to 19% by the end of 2022.
What code formatters do you use?> 100%
2022
2021
51%/35%28%/18%23%/30%19%/0% 1%/2% 4%/4%28%/35%Blackisortautopep8pre-commitYAPFOtherNone
The share of Black code formatter has significantly increased (by 16 percentage points) when compared with last year’s survey results.
What linters do you use?> 100%
43%/40%41%/26%33%/37%18%/14% 3%/4%23%/26%Flake8BlackpylintmypyOtherNone
Which top 5 Python packages do you rely on?> 100%
55%51%40%36%35%32%31%19%14%14%14%12%11%11% 5% 2% 2% 2% 2% 6% 5%Psycopg2RequestsGunicornCeleryPillowpytestBlackBoto3uWSGIsentry-sdkWhiteNoisefactory-boyCoverageJinja2HTTPXBleachModel BakeryPython Slugifysorl-thumbnailOtherNone
Psycopg2 and Requests are the most used Python packages among Django users, each with 54%.
Requests is a popular platform among all Python developers, while Psycopg2 seems to be Django-specific.
Pillow, a module for working with images, is popular with less experienced developers.
Cloud
What cloud hosting platform do you use?> 100%
44%23%21%12%10% 8% 7% 3% 1% 1%13%20%AWSDigitalOceanHerokuGoogle Cloud PlatformPythonAnywhereMicrosoft AzureLinodeFly.ioOpenShiftOpenStackOtherNone
With 56% share, AWS is usually the choice for developers from North and Central America.
Heroku is leading in Africa with 39% share, whereas AWS is a close second with 37%.
Furthermore, PythonAnywhere has higher demand in Africa and the Middle East with 20% share, and in Asia it has 19%. In all other parts of the world it has less than 10%.
How do you develop locally for the cloud?> 100%
63%44% 8% 7% 7% 2% 2%10%Locally with virtualenvIn Docker containersIn virtual machinesWith a local system interpreterIn remote development environmentsDirectly in the production environmentOtherNone
How do you run code in the cloud (in a production environment)?>100
54%33%23% 9% 2%15%Within containersIn virtual machinesOn a platform-as-a-serviceServerlessOtherNone
Development Tools
What is your primary text editor or IDE?> 100%
42%38% 7% 5% 2% 2% 1% 3%VS CodePyCharmVimSublime TextAtomEmacsNotepad++Other
What is your primary local operating system?> 100%
41%Linux
33%macOS
16%Windows with WSL
10%Windows without WSL
1%Other
What Continuous Integration (CI) system(s) do you use?> 100%
2022
2021
42%/35%28%/27%10%/12% 8%/8% 2%/6% 1%/1% 6%/7%28%/32%GitHub ActionsGitLab CIJenkins/HudsonCircleCITravisCITeamCityOtherNone
Since last year, the share of GitHub Actions has increased slightly by 7 percentage points, while Jenkins and Travis CI have lost 2 and 4 percentage points respectively.
What configuration management tools do you use?> 100%
19% 8% 6% 2% 2% 1% 5%65%AnsibleCustom solutionFabricPuppetSaltChefOtherNone
Containers
Do you use Docker containers, or something similar?>100
47%I use containers duringdevelopment
45%The application I build runs incontainers in production
44%Containers are used in theCI/CD process
31%No / I’m not sure
2%I use containers for anotherpurpose
What do you run inside Docker containers?>100
91%61%22% 2%Application code that I develop or that my team developsBacking services that my code connects toUtilities I use during developmentOther
The use of Docker containers for backing services and utilities is lower for individuals and small companies with fewer than 10 people.
During development, where do you run your code?>100
71%61%15% 9% 4% 0%Inside a virtualenvInside a container, on my computerUsing the system interpreter on my computerInside containers, on a different computerOn a different computer outside of containersOther
How do you deploy code to remote containers during development?>100
68%40%35%12% 6%I use continuous integrationI transfer code to the host machine and build the container thereI build the container image locally and then push the imageI connect to the Docker engine remotelyOther
How do you debug your application?> 100%
72%56%40% 2%Using print or log statementsUsing my IDEUsing shell / pdbOther
45% of developers with 11 or more years of experience debug their applications using shell / pdb, while only 20% of developers with less than 1 year’s experience and 30% of developers with 1–2 years’ experience do so.
Do you debug your application on remote hosts, or in containers?
No
I only use log statements
I frequently use a debugger on my application running remotely or in containers
30%26%22%22%
Demographics
What is your current employment status?>100
65%11% 9% 6% 4% 3% 1% 1%Fully employed by a company / organizationFreelancerSelf-employedStudentPartially employed by a company / organizationWorking studentRetiredOther
Django users freelance at twice the rate of developers in general: the share of freelancers in this survey is 11%, compared with just 5% in the total developer ecosystem and 6% in the Python Developers Survey.
What is your job role?>100
79%18%17%12% 7% 6% 4% 4% 3% 3% 8%Developer/ProgrammerTeam leadArchitectCTO/CIO/CEOProduct managerTechnical supportDBABusiness analystQA EngineerTechnical writerOther
What is your professional coding experience?> 100%
2022
2021
9%/11%15%/17%22%/24%21%/19%33%/29%Less than 1 year1–2 years3–5 years6–10 years11+ years
This year’s demographics show that the 2022 survey respondents are slightly more experienced than last year’s.
How long have you been programming in Python?> 100%
6%/8%16%/21%30%/31%28%/24%19%/16%Less than 1 year1–2 years3–5 years6–10 years11+ years
What is your age range?
2% 4%30%37%19% 6% 2% 1%Under 1818–2021–2930–3940–4950–5960 or olderI prefer not to answer
Which region are you based in?
45%19%18% 7% 7% 3% 2% 1% 1%EuropeNorth AmericaAsiaSouth AmericaAfricaMiddle EastOceaniaCentral AmericaOther
What is your country or region?
15% 7% 6% 5% 5% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 1%United StatesIndiaGermanyFranceUnited KingdomSpainRussian FederationBrazilPolandChina MainlandCanadaNetherlandsItalyAustraliaIranNigeria
All results ▼
Company
What is your company size?
18%20%20%20% 5% 5% 8% 3%Just me2–10 people11–50 people51–500 people501–1,000 people1,001–5,000 peopleMore than 5,000 peopleNot sure
Within your company, what team size do you work on?
9%67%14% 6% 2% 1%Just me2–7 people8–12 people13–20 people21–40 peopleMore than 40 people
Django developers tend to work in small teams.
How many projects do you work on?
I work on many different projects
I work on one main project and several side projects
I only work on one project
46%40%14%
The more experienced the developer, the more projects they tend to have. Developers with less experience generally work on one main project with several side projects, or even on a single main project.
Do you work in a team or independently?
I work in a team
67%29%4%
Which of the following industries best describes your company’s business?> 100%
38% 8% 7% 5% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%10%Information Technology / Software DevelopmentEducation / TrainingAccounting / Finance / InsuranceMedicine / HealthSales / Distribution / Business DevelopmentScienceNon-profitBanking / Real Estate / Mortgage FinancingManufacturingAdministration / ManagementLogistics/ TransportationMarketingBusiness / Strategic ManagementService/ MaintenancePublishingSecurityHuman ResourcesRestaurants / HospitalityConstruction / ArchitectureDesignLawCustomer SupportOther
Methodology and Raw Data
Want to dig further into the data? Download the anonymized survey responses and see what you can learn! Share your findings and insights by mentioning @jetbrains and @djangoproject on Twitter with the hashtag #djangosurvey.
Before dissecting the data, please note the following important information:
The data set includes responses only from official Django Software Foundation channels. After filtering out duplicate and unreliable responses, the data set includes around 4,900 responses collected in September – October, 2022 through the promotion of the survey on official Django channels, such as djangoproject.com and the DSF's Twitter account. In order to prevent the survey from being slanted in favor of any specific tool or technology, no product-, service-, or vendor-related channels were used to collect responses.
The data are anonymized, with no personal information or geolocation details. Moreover, to prevent the identification of any individual respondents by their verbatim comments, all open-ended fields have been deleted.
To help you better understand the logic of the survey, we are sharing the data set, the survey questions, and all the survey logic.
Once again, on behalf of both the Django Software Foundation and JetBrains, we’d like to thank everyone who took part in this survey.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us at surveys@jetbrains.com.