India leads global open source revolution as GitHub’s largest developer base, powered by AI and digital access.
India has officially overtaken the United States to become the world’s largest base of open-source contributors, according to GitHub’s Octoverse 2025 report. This marks the first time any nation has surpassed the US in open source contribution volume, signalling a new era in global software collaboration.
Over five million Indian developers joined GitHub in 2025, representing more than 14% of all new accounts globally. India now leads in the total number of contributors to public and open source repositories on the platform. The country’s developer ecosystem has grown more than fourfold since 2020, making it one of the fastest-expanding in the world.
“India added more than 5.2M developers in 2025, which accounts for a little over 14% of GitHub’s total +36M new developers in 2025. That makes India the single largest source of new developers on GitHub this year, continuing its rapid rise since 2020,” GitHub Octoverse 2025 Report.
GitHub projects that by 2030, India will have over 57 million developers, equivalent to one in every three new developers globally. While India leads in developer headcount, the United States continues to top contribution volume, reflecting higher per-developer activity.
Brazil, Indonesia, and Germany have also emerged as significant open source hubs, marking a geographic shift in global software innovation.
India’s rise is fuelled by expanding internet access, AI-assisted coding tools like GitHub Copilot, and government-backed skilling initiatives. With nearly 80% of new developers using Copilot within their first week, AI integration has become a defining feature of India’s open source culture, cementing its position as a global hub for collaborative digital innovation.
