PHP Usage Statistics: What You Need to Know in 2024

Every website uses one or more programming languages, but PHP is the most common. Even though new programming languages have emerged, PHP remains the most used. Web developers find it the most valuable because it can be incorporated into HTML. It helps coders and developers make interactive content and communicate with the internet. 

With its simplicity, scalability, and speed, PHP is a server-side programming language essential for web development. Whatever your level of expertise is regarding programming, here are some helpful statistics about PHP. 

How Many Websites Use PHP?

Most websites use PHP. Out of nearly 2 billion websites worldwide, over 33.7 million live ones use the programing language, including more than 1.6 million additional redirects.

PHP is the most common programming language that suits general purposes. It's a popular tool for web development since you can embed it in an HTML document.

Here are some PHP usage statistics you should know if you choose this language for building your website or application:

PHP Usage Statistics

Web developers use PHP to communicate with data sources and build interactive content. Generally, this language is preferred for its flexibility, simplicity, and speed.

If you're interested in learning PHP or plan to use it on your upcoming website, here are some usage statistics you'll want to know:

1. Over 77% of all active and live websites use PHP.

(w3techs)

PHP is used to develop 77.5% of all websites. That's almost the entire internet relying on the programming language.

With the release of newer programming languages, the early consensus was that PHP was dying from dwindling users. However, that was proven wrong. The server-side scripting language was incorporated into HTML, revitalizing its influence and expanding its reach.

2. More than 87 million websites have been powered by PHP since 1995.

(Built With)

About 33,765,025 active websites use PHP. If you include the historical sites, it totals 87,120,710. Millions of these sites have been relying on it since 1995. It’s among the first languages web developers got used to, and it continues to be a reliable option today.

3. PHP is behind over 22% of the top 10,000 sites.

(Built With)

Popular and high-traffic sites prefer PHP. Over 22% of the top 10,000 sites run with this programming language. Moreover, in the top 100,000 list, over 23% run with PHP.

Here are the number of sites using PHP:

• 212,725 in the top 1 million
• 23,315 in the top 100,000 
• 2,202 in the top 10,000

4. 66% of all PHP websites still use version 7.

(w3Techs)

PHP’s latest version is 8. However, most websites still use version 7. Here's data that shows a breakdown of PHP users based on the version they're using:

• 66% use Version 7
• 21.2% use Version 5
• 12.6% use Version 8
• 0.2% use Version 4

About 872,820,000 websites using PHP still run lower versions. This may be due to incompatibility issues. For example, nearly 80 million websites have a Content Management System (CMS), and the themes and plugins supported by these CMS usually need help pairing with newer PHP versions.

5. Around 18,000 websites still utilize the same PHP used by Facebook in 2004.

(w3Techs)

Facebook houses over 2 billion users but still uses PHP 4, a version released way back in 2000. In fact, recent data shows that 0.2% of all websites still use the same version. While it may not sound much, that's still around 18,000 websites.

6. Over 2,000 high-traffic and famous websites use PHP.

(Infostride)

A website's credibility is 75% influenced by its design, and PHP gives famous websites this edge. The language is suitable for massive scaling. Its engine flexibility is a high-performing and multipurpose web deployment platform ideal for various forms of dynamic content.

In consequence, over 2,000 high-traffic sites rely on the language when expanding. Examples of these websites are:

• WordPress
• Whatsapp
• Wikipedia
• Pinterest
• Zoom

7. Every WordPress-powered site runs on PHP at around 40%. 

(WP Shout)

WordPress is one of the main reasons PHP remains popular. It’s the biggest entity in the CMS market, with over 810,000,000 active websites in 2023.

So, the majority of PHP-run websites have WordPress as their CMS. The two have been in harmony since the latter’s release in 2003, and they will likely continue this pairing for a long time. 

8. 81% of all uses of PHP are still for web development.

(Jet Brains)

PHP is a programming language used for many purposes. However, it remains most commonly used for web development projects. Here are other uses of PHP and how much they're used in different niches:

• Web Development - 81% 
• Utilities - 27%
• Data Storage - 24 %
• Frameworks - 15%
• Software Development - 14%
• Finance - 11%
• IT Infrastructures - 9%
• Machine Learning - 6%
• Entertainment - 5%
• Programming Tools - 5%
• Home Automation - 2%
• Security - 2%
• Games - 2%
• Blockchain - 1%

Blockchain has the lowest use at 1%. By 2029, the blockchain industry is estimated to grow to $163.83 billion. However, unfortunately for PHP, it’s one of the bigger industries it can’t penetrate.

Generally, developers agree that PHP is not the best choice for blockchain usage because it’s not a natively supported language for many platforms. Simply put, blockchains are too difficult to handle with PHP.

PHP Demographics Statistics

Demographic statistics data can provide valuable insights when deciding whether to use PHP. Here are some of the latest PHP stats related to demographics.

9. 4 major countries have more than 1 million websites using PHP.

(Built With)

More than one million PHP-run websites exist in the US, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The US tops the short list of these Western countries with nearly 1.8 million websites. 

These are the specific number of PHP-powered websites in each territory:

• United States - 1,793,563
• Germany - 1,731,749
• Russia - 1,389,697
• United Kingdom - 1,017,478

10. PHP developers earn an average annual revenue of over $94,000.

(Flexiple)

PHP developers in the US earn an average yearly revenue of around $94,367. However, it can be lower at about $60,000 for beginners and higher at roughly $120,000 to $148,000 for intermediate or senior developers.

Developers are in high demand. In 2023, there are 4.4 million recorded software developers in the US. PHP developers, in particular, are highly sought after because most of the world’s websites still use the programming language.

11. Only 6.2% of developers want to learn PHP.

(Emizentech)

Based on web developers' preferences, most want to learn Java rather than PHP. Only 6.2% of them want to be educated on PHP coding. That starkly contrasts with 19.1% who want to learn Java skills.

For developers already in their field, nearly half of each type don’t want to switch to new programming languages. 44.1% of Java coders prefer working in the same language, while 37.3% of PHP developers want to stay in their line of expertise too.

12. 25.8% of all web developers prefer PHP.

(Emizentech)

Of all web developers, 25.8% prefer using PHP for their web development projects. It's lower than the ones who like Java at 38.4%. 

Java’s talent pool is larger than PHP's. However, the demand for PHP developers is still consistently high simply because it’s the most used language on the internet.

PHP Trends Statistics

Analyzing trend statistics can help predict the future based on past and present data. For this reason, here are some helpful PHP trends you'll find interesting:

13. PHP surpasses other programming languages in usage, raking a 77.4% share.

(Benjamin Crozat)

Despite the emergence of other new programming languages, PHP remains the most used. Here's a usage ranking of all the languages:

• PHP - 77.4%
• ASP.NET - 7.5%
• Ruby - 5.6%
• Java - 4.5%
• Scala - 2.7%
• JavaScript - 2.2%
• Static files - 1.8%
• Python - 1.4%
• ColdFusion - 0.3%
• Perl - 0.1%
• Erlang - 0.1%

As previously mentioned, PHP had a reputation of being undermined as old and dying. However, this data shows otherwise. PHP's popularity as a server-side language is, in fact, growing. Recent statistics also show that 77.5% of websites still use it. The figure is only a slight decrease from 78.9% in 2022.

14. Around 79% of the programming language market is owned by PHP.

(Kinsta)

Many programming languages emerged in the past 10 years. Nonetheless, PHP remained one of the most used. From 2012 until 2022, PHP had an average market share of around 79%.

Here's the yearly market share of PHP:

• 2012 - 76.6%
• 2013 - 77.7%
• 2014 - 80.3%
• 2015 - 80.6%
• 2016 - 80.0%
• 2017 - 80.0%
• 2018 - 80.02%
• 2019 - 78.9%
• 2020 - 79.1%
• 2021 - 79.2%
• 2022 - 77.0 %

PHP had a decrease in market share since 2019. However, the slight decline remains at the top of all programming languages.

15. PHP has been running websites since 1995.

(IFJ)

Created in 1994 and launched in 1995, PHP is among the oldest programming languages. Back then, it was known as 'Personal Home Page Tools.'

After a few months in 1996, PHP was used by around 15,000 websites. The following year, over 50,000 websites started using PHP. Some 3 years later, more than a million sites were run by PHP.

From serving 15,000 sites after its first release, PHP now has version 8, and almost 87 million sites have benefited from this language.

16. There are 700,000 searches per month on Google for the term PHP.

(Semrush)

Thousands of people are still continuously interested in PHP. The global search volume of the PHP keyword is around 700,000 per month. The US and Japan search for PHP on Google is nearly 50,000 per month. However, India has the highest search volume for the keyword at around 90,000 every month. 

Conclusion

PHP remains a commonly used programming language on the internet. Tech analysts claim it’s dead, but many websites still use it regularly. 

PHP provides a simple way to learn programming basics. It’s easy to use, fast, and flexible, so it will always be worth learning and using.