In an intriguing study, HackerRank has analyzed its data to find out which countries have the best developers—and the results may surprise you.
HackerRank is a platform that allows programmers to demonstrate their knowledge and advertise their talents to potential employers. It regularly publishes numerous coding challenges to be solved by developers (1.5 million of whom have already been ranked). So of course it’s only natural to want to view the results in terms of geographical location also.
You could argue against the validity of this approach. Nonetheless, it’s interesting to note that, despite prominent programmer names such as Bill Gates, Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and Donald Knuth, the USA by no means tops the list. In fact, it is ranked only 28th—with even Germany scoring a little higher in 14th place 😉
China and Russia lead the pack, with USA and India as “also-rans”
According to HackerRank’s data, the best developers hail from China and Russia. Developers from “the Middle Kingdom” outscore the rest when it comes to mathematics, functional programming, and data structures. Russians dominate in algorithms, the most popular and competitive discipline. While the United States and India have the most programmers on HackerRank, the subcontinent comes in 3 places behind the Americans in 31st place.
Europe makes a surprisingly strong showing in the top ten, with Poland and Switzerland in third and fourth place respectively, just behind the Chinese-Russian pack leaders. Hungary, France, the Czech Republic, and Italy are also among the top ten. The results are also interesting if you take a closer look at specialist disciplines. For example, the best Java developers come from Poland, the best Python developers from Hong Kong, and the best SQL developers are the Danes. Japan leads the way in artificial intelligence, while the study crowns Swiss developers the database experts. Finland knows its Ruby, Sri Lanka its distributed systems, and the Ukraine wins top prize in security.
Want to Work at Retarus?
At Retarus, we are also always actively seeking new talent—including skill-savvy developers. Have a look at our open positions here. We would also welcome your unsolicited application, even if you don’t see a job opening with the title you’re looking for right now. We create solutions that inspire our customers. We are proud of our employees, most of whom have been with the company for over five years. As a Retarian, you can expect dedicated professional guidance, ongoing training, and the freedom in your job to get things done. We work in a relaxed, informal atmosphere but also in an international environment with real opportunities for advancement. And, oh yeah, on Kununu we’re ranked a “Top Company” and “Open Company”.
