Top 10 African countries with the largest numbers of software engineers

In Summary

• Github's 2024 data suggests that Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, and Kenya together have more than 3.7 million software developers, compared to 2021 estimates of 716,000 professionals in Google's 2021 Africa.
• Kenya led the growth rate with 33%, followed by Nigeria (28%), Egypt and Morocco (25%), and South Africa (23%), run by youth demographics, distance work, and digital investment.
• Countries such as Ghana and Tunisia reported 30,000 developers each in 2021, while Tanzania and Uganda had 25,000 and 20,000 respectively, which showed the growing ecosystem in the early stages.

Deep Dive!

There have been major changes in Africa’s software engineering market lately. Before, we had to depend on rough measurements when looking at developer communities in Africa, but today, thanks to new sources of open data and open-source tools, their numbers and impact can be seen much more clearly.

The rise in distance learning happens due to more people in the workforce being able to use the internet, young adults becoming a larger population, and increased chances of remote work. All these sectors help make up the current environment, yet how far countries have come forward is not the same everywhere.

GitHub and Google data are used to rank the nine African countries with the largest numbers of software engineers in this article. It shows where developers are most active and how each place is helping to increase the number of.

9. Uganda

According to Google, Uganda’s professional developer population was about 20,000. Data from the past six months isn’t yet available, yet Uganda is still showing progress in digital areas. Because of mobile-focused ideas and rising internet use, the developer community is fast growing. The country has difficulties with funding and building, but programs to offer digital education to youth suggest Uganda will advance beyond what it has achieved so far.

8. Tanzania

Google's data revealed that the number of professional developers in Tanzania is 25,000. Even so, the country is putting money into digital tools for healthcare and farming. Thanks to the tech hubs in the city and more people having access to mobile internet, young people are discovering software development. Tanzania might be slower to progress than other East African countries, but its foundations for growth are already moving.

7. Tunisia

Tunisia’s 30,000 developers were equal to Ghana’s. Now that there are no new GitHub numbers available, Tunisia is still important in outsourcing and cybersecurity, helped by its closeness to Europe and the fact that many people speak different languages. The skills of its software developers are influenced by leading universities and challenging engineering courses. Yet, due to the same reasons affecting many North African countries, many talented developers from Tunisia search for better jobs outside the country.

6. Ghana

Ghana employed 30,000 professional developers in the year 2021. Meanwhile, the country is moving forward with forceful actions to boost its number of tourists. The plan of the government’s ICT strategy includes teaching 200,000 youth and offering jobs for digital talents. In early 2024, the number of people accessing the internet in Ghana rose to 69.8%. Although there are no recent figures from GitHub, the rise in money put into digital education and e-commerce in Ghana points to its readiness for a tech talent boom.

5. Kenya

The share of Kenyan tech talent is growing faster than that in any other African country. GitHub’s data reports that the number of developers climbed from 297,581 in 2023 to over 393,000 in 2024 which is a huge 33% increase, the biggest in Asia. The number of developers at Google was just 55,000 in 2021. Kenya made history by introducing programming in public schools, and today, Nairobi is a leading center for fintech, mobile growth, and development schools, including Andela and Moringa Schools.

4. Morocco

GitHub developers in Morocco went from 448,194 in 2023 to more than 556,000 in 2024, still holding a strong 25% growth rate. In 2021, Google shared that there were just https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001487160/kenya-introduces-coding-in-schools-creating-pipeline-to-global-jobs-market50,000 developers, so Morocco’s tech community has expanded more than tenfold since then. Morocco draws plenty of interest in software services because of its closeness to Europe, skilled multilingual workers, and main focus on IT outsourcing.

3. South Africa

Developers using GitHub in South Africa increased by 23% from 540,586 in 2023 to over 664,000 in 2024. The number of professional programmers in South Africa was 121,000 in 2021, according to Google. Developers in South Africa operate in an ecosystem that is both deep and mature. AI, cloud, and robotics are major subjects studied here, and the developers are considered among the best on the continent. Nearly half of all South African developers are remote employees, often with international companies which creates a problem for local firms wanting to hire them.

2. Egypt

In two years, Egypt’s population of software developers increased by 25% from 792,790 in 2023 to over 990,000 in 2024. In comparison to 2021, there are now more than twice as many with 89,000. Because many Egyptian young people are educated, proficient in English, and are in a connected geographic area, Egypt is considered a leading tech center in Africa. It takes part in outsourcing in the region and has attracted attention for what it offers in AI and fintech.

1. Nigeria

Nigeria belongs in a class of its own. 2024 saw GitHub having over 1.1 million developers, considerably more than 2023’s number of 872,162 and a rise of 28%. Just three years before, the number of developers listed by Google was only 84,000. 4% of all new blockchain developers worldwide are from Nigeria, plus the country accounts for 3% of the worldwide Web3 workforce. Because of its young tech experts, lively startup industry, and home to remote working, Nigeria is seen as the top software capital in Africa. Even so, 38% of Nigerian developers are employed by international firms, putting more stress on efforts to keep them in the country.