Skills required by backend jobs in Europe
Server-side services, APIs and the data behind them. We track 1,091 live backend roles right now, and the single most requested skill among them is Java, named as a requirement by 26% of the classified sample.
Most requested skills
Share of 467 classified listings that name each skill as a requirement — not merely mention it.
| # | Skill | Share of roles | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Java | 26% | 122 |
| 2 | Python | 22% | 101 |
| 3 | Go | 20% | 95 |
| 4 | PostgreSQL | 20% | 94 |
| 5 | AWS | 13% | 63 |
| 6 | TypeScript | 13% | 62 |
| 7 | Spring Boot | 12% | 58 |
| 8 | Kubernetes | 10% | 47 |
| 9 | Kotlin | 10% | 47 |
| 10 | Node.js | 9% | 41 |
| 11 | C# | 7% | 32 |
| 12 | CI/CD | 7% | 31 |
| 13 | Docker | 6% | 29 |
| 14 | SQL | 6% | 28 |
| 15 | C++ | 6% | 27 |
| 16 | JavaScript | 5% | 25 |
| 17 | .NET | 5% | 24 |
| 18 | Kafka | 5% | 23 |
| 19 | PHP | 4% | 20 |
| 20 | GCP | 4% | 18 |
| 21 | Azure | 3% | 15 |
| 22 | Terraform | 3% | 14 |
| 23 | MySQL | 3% | 14 |
| 24 | FastAPI | 3% | 13 |
| 25 | REST | 3% | 12 |
How to read this
A share, not a ranking of importance
A skill sitting at 40% is required by two backend roles in five. That does not make it four times more valuable than one at 10% — a niche requirement with few candidates can be worth more than a common one. What it does tell you is how many doors the skill opens.
Gaps are worth more than strengths
The useful question is not which of these you already have. It is which of the top few you do not — because that is the one quietly removing you from the largest number of shortlists.
Which of these are missing from your CV?
Upload it once and the same measurement runs against your own skills: which of the requirements above you already cover, which you do not, and what an applicant tracking system makes of the document before a person reads it. Free, no card.
Check my CV against theseOther role families
Or browse the live backend openings these numbers come from.