Applications programmers
Most tasks score high and the scores agree. Expect the role to be reorganised.
Exposure is not job loss: it shows how much of the work generative AI could do today. Whether that turns into transformation, productivity gains or cuts depends on employers, regulation — and on you.
0 = today’s generative AI cannot perform any of the job’s tasks, 100 = it could do all of them fully. The pale band is the spread across tasks.
Work out your own score ↓What can you do?
🤖 Written with AIThis text was written by artificial intelligence from the data points shown; it is built on verified figures but may contain mistakes.· 12/10/2026How is it made?
With an exposure score of 57/100, applications programmers will see routine coding and documentation heavily accelerated by generative AI. Yet strong projected growth confirms that programmers who steer complex systems and solve domain problems remain in high demand.
What changes
- Routine code drafting from specifications will transition to automated synthesis and AI scaffolding.
- Drafting development documentation and technical logs will become largely synthesized by AI tools.
- Refactoring existing codebases and bug patching will rely heavily on automated code suggestions.
What stays human
- Diagnosing ambiguous technical bottlenecks and communicating software trade-offs across non-technical stakeholder teams.
- Validating complex edge cases, system security, and business logic that automated runs miss.
- Translating ill-defined client requirements into coherent architectural designs and integration strategies.
What to learn
- Mastering prompt-assisted code review, verification techniques, and rigorous automated testing pipelines.
- Architectural design skills for distributed, scalable systems and robust cross-service API integrations.
- Technical communication and product scoping to bridge user requirements with software delivery.
Task by task
The ILO scored every task of the occupation separately, as the average of two AI models (GPT-4o and Gemini). The pale band is the range between the two models' scores, the dot the ILO's final score (for a few tasks expert review placed it outside the band).
- Writing and maintaining programme code outlined in instructions and specifications in accordance with quality accredited standards69
- Compiling and writing documentation of programme development62
- Revising, repairing or expanding existing programmes to increase operating efficiency or adapt to new requirements56
- Conducting trial runs of programmes and software applications to confirm that they will produce the desired information54
- Identifying and communicating technical problems, processes and solutions.47
How much does it affect you?
Every job is different: mark which of these tasks you do and how much, and we'll compute your own, time-weighted score.
For each task: I don't do it · sometimes · most of my job.
- Writing and maintaining programme code outlined in instructions and specifications in accordance with quality accredited standards(69)
- Compiling and writing documentation of programme development(62)
- Revising, repairing or expanding existing programmes to increase operating efficiency or adapt to new requirements(56)
- Conducting trial runs of programmes and software applications to confirm that they will produce the desired information(54)
- Identifying and communicating technical problems, processes and solutions.(47)
You are exactly at the occupation average. (The occupation's score: 57.)
About 80% of your working time goes to highly exposed tasks (score ≥ 50).
- • Writing and maintaining programme code outlined in instructions and specifications in accordance with quality accredited standards
- • Compiling and writing documentation of programme development
- • Identifying and communicating technical problems, processes and solutions.
- • Conducting trial runs of programmes and software applications to confirm that they will produce the desired information
An estimate from the ILO task scores. Everything is computed in your browser — nothing is sent or stored.
How many people work in this occupational group?
Share of the Information and communications technology professionals group in total employment, by country (Eurostat, ISCO 2-digit — 4-digit breakdowns are not public by country).
Table view
| Country | Information and communications technology professionals |
|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 5.7% · 19 thousand · 2025 |
| Sweden | 5.6% · 297 thousand · 2025 |
| Netherlands | 4.9% · 485 thousand · 2025 |
| Finland | 4.3% · 112 thousand · 2025 |
| Lithuania | 4.1% · 60 thousand · 2025 |
| Switzerland | 4.1% · 196 thousand · 2025 |
| Ireland | 4.0% · 111 thousand · 2025 |
| Estonia | 3.9% · 27 thousand · 2025 |
| Belgium | 3.6% · 186 thousand · 2025 |
| United Kingdom | 3.5% · 1,206 thousand · 2025 |
| Denmark | 3.3% · 103 thousand · 2025 |
| Norway | 3.2% · 94 thousand · 2025 |
| Portugal | 3.2% · 167 thousand · 2025 |
| Austria | 3.1% · 138 thousand · 2025 |
| France | 3.0% · 893 thousand · 2025 |
| Poland | 3.0% · 520 thousand · 2025 |
| Cyprus | 2.9% · 15 thousand · 2025 |
| Iceland | 2.9% · 7 thousand · 2025 |
| Hungary | 2.9% · 134 thousand · 2025 |
| Latvia | 2.9% · 25 thousand · 2025 |
| Czechia | 2.8% · 147 thousand · 2025 |
| Germany | 2.7% · 1,149 thousand · 2025 |
| Bulgaria | 2.7% · 79 thousand · 2025 |
| Malta | 2.7% · 9 thousand · 2025 |
| Slovenia | 2.5% · 25 thousand · 2025 |
| Slovakia | 2.4% · 64 thousand · 2025 |
| Croatia | 2.2% · 38 thousand · 2025 |
| Romania | 1.5% · 116 thousand · 2025 |
| Spain | 1.4% · 317 thousand · 2025 |
| Greece | 1.4% · 60 thousand · 2025 |
| Italy | 0.8% · 191 thousand · 2025 |
What do they earn?
Mean gross monthly earnings in the major occupational group (Professionals). Eurostat's earnings survey only publishes pay by occupation at 1 digit, so this is the job's broader group. Enterprises with 10+ employees, 2022.
By country, at purchasing power parity (PPS/month), so countries with different price levels can be compared.
- Switzerland6,389
- Luxembourg5,274
- Ireland4,873
- Germany4,807
- Belgium4,799
- Denmark4,446
- Norway4,237
- Austria4,099
- Netherlands4,031
- Iceland3,875
- EU273,850
- France3,791
- Finland3,769
- Romania3,559
- Sweden3,416
- Spain3,413
- Slovenia3,326
- Italy3,305
- Cyprus3,271
- Lithuania3,221
- Croatia2,890
- Czechia2,871
- Malta2,825
- Poland2,783
- Hungary2,777
- Portugal2,755
- Latvia2,671
- Estonia2,599
- Bulgaria2,359
- Slovakia2,345
- Greece2,321
Source: Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey (earn_ses22_21), every four years. The United Kingdom is not covered by the survey.
Outlook to 2035
Employment in the Information and communications technology professionals group according to Cedefop's 2026 forecast.
thousand · Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026 · 2026–2035: projection
Replacement demand is the jobs left by people retiring or changing careers — even a shrinking occupation can have many openings.
According to the WEF
Software and Applications Developers — among the FASTEST-GROWING jobs (rank 4)
Future 2035 →Related occupations
Sources: ILO WP140 (2025) · Eurostat lfsa_egai2d · Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026 · WEF Future of Jobs 2025 · ESCO. The exposure score measures how much of an occupation's tasks generative AI could perform — not whether the job disappears. For information only, not career advice. How do we calculate this?