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Which Country Offers the Best Software Developers?

What makes a good software developer

Before discussing which country yields the best developers, we need to understand what makes a good software developer.

There isn't any one trait that will turn a professional into a valuable developer. No one is going to become good at software development just by learning skill x or language y. All knowledge will help, of course, but what makes a good software developer is a combination of personal traits, skills, and experience. Some of this stems from academic learning, for sure, but when it comes to software development, hands-on experience, and on-the-job learning are invaluable assets.

Searching for 'what makes a good software developer, or 'top 3 qualities of a software developer' will throw an array of results. They are all valid on their own merits, but paint too broad a picture, so let's try to distill this stream of information into a bite-sized chunk.

A good software developer is:

  • Curious
  • Able to learn, and keep learning. Technology moves fast
  • A problem-solver. Software development is, at its core, a problem-solving exercise
  • Good at managing time
  • Patient. Persistence pays off

Where are the Best

Software development is a cool, well-regarded, and rewarding profession. Being a developer grants the individual a certain status. A modicum of dignity, if you will. As the world becomes more and more connected, software development skills are in constant demand.

Now, these professionals can be found worldwide, of course, but there are countries that have become associated with software development excellence over the last few years. In this article, we'll discuss which country tends to produce the best software development personnel, and why, putting particular emphasis on Eastern Europe as the number one offshore development destination for many clients from the US and Western European countries.

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So which Eastern European country has the best developer community?

According to Clutch, there are more than 2,700 offshore software development companies in this region as of March 2022. Almost 950 companies provide services in Poland, following by  Ukraine with 861 firms, Romania has 345 companies, Czech Republic and Hungary around 100 each. Let’s dive deep in why Ukraine and Poland are the best choices for offshore development.

Offshore Development companies in Eastern Europe
Offshore Development companies in Eastern Europe

Another valuable metric is the number of available software developers on the market. Poland tops the list with 430,000 developers, followed by Ukraine with 290,000. Other countries in the Eastern European offshore development arena don’t even come close to these numbers.

Developer Population of Central & Eastern Europe (thousands)
Developer Population of Central & Eastern Europe (thousands)

Which Country Offers the Best Software Developers?

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Which Country Offers the Best Software Developers?

Software development is a cool, well-regarded, and rewarding profession. Being a developer grants the individual a certain status. A modicum of dignity, if you will. As the world becomes more and more connected, software development skills are in constant demand.

Now, these professionals can be found worldwide, of course, but there are countries that have become associated with software development excellence over the last few years. In this article, we'll discuss which country tends to produce the best software development personnel, and why, putting particular emphasis on Eastern Europe as the number one offshore development destination for many clients from the US and Western European countries.

What makes a good software developer

Before discussing which country yields the best developers, we need to understand what makes a good software developer.

There isn't any one trait that will turn a professional into a valuable developer. No one is going to become good at software development just by learning skill x or language y. All knowledge will help, of course, but what makes a good software developer is a combination of personal traits, skills, and experience. Some of this stems from academic learning, for sure, but when it comes to software development, hands-on experience, and on-the-job learning are invaluable assets.

Searching for 'what makes a good software developer, or 'top 3 qualities of a software developer' will throw an array of results. They are all valid on their own merits, but paint too broad a picture, so let's try to distill this stream of information into a bite-sized chunk.

A good software developer is:

  • Curious
  • Able to learn, and keep learning. Technology moves fast
  • A problem-solver. Software development is, at its core, a problem-solving exercise
  • Good at managing time
  • Patient. Persistence pays off

Where are the Best

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So which Eastern European country has the best developer community?

According to Clutch, there are more than 2,700 offshore software development companies in this region as of March 2022. Almost 950 companies provide services in Poland, following by  Ukraine with 861 firms, Romania has 345 companies, Czech Republic and Hungary around 100 each. Let’s dive deep in why Ukraine and Poland are the best choices for offshore development.

Offshore Development companies in Eastern Europe
Offshore Development companies in Eastern Europe

Another valuable metric is the number of available software developers on the market. Poland tops the list with 430,000 developers, followed by Ukraine with 290,000. Other countries in the Eastern European offshore development arena don’t even come close to these numbers.

Developer Population of Central & Eastern Europe (thousands)
Developer Population of Central & Eastern Europe (thousands)

Poland

  • Poland is an EU country, and for some companies, this is a crucial factor in their decision-making.
  • Poland’s IT market is expected to surpass $13bn by the end of 2024.
  • IT services generate around 30% of all jobs in the Polish labor market, as reported by ABSL Poland.
  • Poland recently adapted favorable taxation for self-employed software developers.

Ukraine

  • The country's IT sector is booming and expanding. In 2020 for example, even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ukrainian IT exports grew by 20.4%.
  • According to Hackerrank, Ukrainian developers rate first when it comes to cybersecurity awareness and knowledge, and the same cohort features in the top 5 when it comes to mathematics and distributed systems skills.

Czech Republic

  • The Czech Republic is home to around 250,000 IT specialists, including software developers
  • The most popular coding languages used by developers there are PHP, C, C++, C#, Python, Ruby on Rails, and Swift
  • The cybersecurity field is particularly popular among Czech developers

Romania

  • According to Hackerrank, Romania's developers rank 20th in the list of most skilled developers
  • Romania is part of the European Union, which means political stability and a safe business environment
  • The country has 49 public and 8 private universities. Combined, they produce more than 7,000 IT graduates every year
  • Romania is among the five countries with the quickest economic growth in the European Union

Six steps to hiring the best developers in the CEE region

Finding the right talent starts with a solid plan. Follow these steps to hire the best developer talent within the CEE Region

1 - Define your requirements from the start, and ensure that you budget accordingly.

2 - Perform deep market research of the local market. This will help you understand whether or not the local market can fulfill your requirements.

3 - Create a professional presentation about your company. Present your offering, history, and achievements. This will be particularly effective in a new market where your company might not have a presence yet.

4 - Understand who will be managing new offshore staff, and how will this management be handled. Focus on team structure, impact, and targets.

5 - Create an onboarding plan for new offshore employees.

6 - Choose a reliable service provider such as AllSTARSIT.

How AllSTARSIT can find you best developers in CEE Region

AllSTARSIT is an international Software R&D, Technical Support, and Talent Acquisition service provider established in 2004. We specialize in software development services for clients across industries as diverse as cybersecurity, healthcare, Fintech, telecommunications, media, and more.

We use our deep expertise in recruitment and talent scouting to find the best software developers and build the best teams of developers in the CEE Region. Our driving principles are growth, integrity, and synergy.

Get in touch today to discuss your project.

Which Country Offers the Best Software Developers?

Software development is a cool, well-regarded, and rewarding profession. Being a developer grants the individual a certain status. A modicum of dignity, if you will. As the world becomes more and more connected, software development skills are in constant demand.

Now, these professionals can be found worldwide, of course, but there are countries that have become associated with software development excellence over the last few years. In this article, we'll discuss which country tends to produce the best software development personnel, and why, putting particular emphasis on Eastern Europe as the number one offshore development destination for many clients from the US and Western European countries.