The Netherlands has around 25,000 Java developers, from backend developer to Java software engineer. Right now 296 vacancies with Java in the job title are open. Java developers move more than architects: 17% changed role, and they stay with an employer 1.8 years on average. By our estimate that puts more than a thousand on the move each quarter. Those who call themselves Java developer explicitly stay longer: 2.5 years. CBS figures for all software and application developers, 229,000 people, give the wider context. Our conclusion: the Java market moves, but whoever moves has several options within weeks. Speed wins the flow, direct approach wins the more than 24,000 who stay put this quarter.
Anyone looking for a Java developer is searching in a group Statistics Netherlands (CBS) does not count separately. So this analysis looks from two sides. LinkedIn Talent Insights counts developers with Java as a skill and people with Java in their title; CBS counts the wider occupational group, software and application developers.
The counts come from LinkedIn and CBS; the flow estimates and the conclusions are ours and are marked as such.
What LinkedIn shows
In September 2026 LinkedIn Talent Insights counts 25,307 professionals in the Netherlands with a developer title (software engineer, backend developer, full stack developer or Java developer) and Java as a skill on their profile. Of those, 2,974 have Java explicitly in their job title. More than eight in ten are men.
| Measure | Developers with Java | Java in the title |
|---|---|---|
| Professionals on LinkedIn | 25,307 | 2,974 |
| Role changes | 17% | 14% |
| Average tenure | 1.8 years | 2.5 years |
| Open vacancies with Java in the title | – | 296 |
The largest employers are Booking.com (1,060 developers with Java), bol (433), Adyen (428), ASML (387) and Rabobank (339). Attrition at those five is between 4% and 11%.
LinkedIn only counts people with a profile who list Java as a skill; some of the 25,307 mainly work in another language, and some Java developers do not list Java. We therefore estimate the group at around 25,000. Apply the 17% to that and about four thousand Java developers change role each year, more than a thousand per quarter. That is our estimate.
The wider group according to CBS
CBS counts Java developers in the occupational group of software and application developers. That group grew from 91,000 in 2013 to 229,000 in the second quarter of 2026. Of those, 199,000 are employees, 153,000 of them on a permanent contract. The other 30,000 are self-employed.
| Year | Software and application developers |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 91,000 |
| 2019 | 138,000 |
| 2024 | 208,000 |
| 2026 (Q2) | 229,000 |
The group is young: 28% are 45 or older, against 46% among systems analysts and ICT advisers, the group architects belong to. Young means mobile. Nationally 4.3% of employees aged 25 to 45 change employer each quarter, against 1.6% of those over 45.
| Age | Changes employer per quarter |
|---|---|
| 15 to 25 | 8.5% |
| 25 to 45 | 4.3% |
| 45 and older | 1.6% |
| All employees | 4.0% |
Whoever moves is gone fast
More than a thousand Java developers per quarter looks like a lot next to 296 open vacancies. But those vacancies are only the LinkedIn posts with Java in the title. For the wider group of ICT specialists CBS counted 55,400 new vacancies in 2025, almost fourteen thousand per quarter. A Java developer who starts looking sees far more roles than the Java vacancies alone, and has several options within weeks.
| Year | New vacancies, ICT specialists |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 52,100 |
| 2019 | 59,100 |
| 2021 | 74,900 |
| 2022 | 76,300 |
| 2024 | 55,900 |
| 2025 | 55,400 |
The difference inside the group stands out. Those with Java explicitly in their title stay 2.5 years on average and change role less often (14%). The very specialist an employer wants for a Java role moves least.
What the figures do not show
LinkedIn only counts people with a profile. A skill on a profile does not mean someone works in Java every day, and many Java developers do not list the language. The 296 vacancies are a snapshot of LinkedIn posts with Java in the title, not a quarterly flow and not every Java vacancy. LinkedIn gives no period for role changes; we read it as an annual figure, and a new role with the same employer may be included.
CBS does not count Java developers separately. The switching rates per age group are national figures across all occupations. The vacancy figures per occupation run to 2025, cover the wider group of ICT specialists and count new vacancies, not unique positions. Every estimate in this analysis that is not a direct CBS or LinkedIn value is marked as an estimate.
Our conclusion
There are not 25,000 available Java developers. By our estimate more than a thousand move each quarter, they stay 1.8 years on average, and whoever moves can choose from far more roles than the Java vacancies alone. The specialist with Java in the title moves least.
Whoever is looking for a Java developer has to do two things at once. Be fast for those who move now, and approach those who do not: the more than 24,000 who stay put this quarter do not answer a job ad.
- Size a Java vacancy on the flow: more than a thousand per quarter, nationally, shared by every employer.
- Speed wins the flow: whoever moves has several options within weeks.
- The specialist with Java in the title stays 2.5 years; you only win them by approaching them.
- You win the stock by approaching people, not by advertising.
Method
The Java figures come from LinkedIn Talent Insights via LinkedIn Recruiter, retrieved 29 September 2026, with current location Netherlands. The broad measure: four standardised current job titles (software engineer, backend developer, full stack developer and Java developer) with the skill Java. The narrow measure: six standardised titles with Java in the name (Java developer, Java web developer, Java consultant, J2EE developer, senior Java JavaEE developer and JavaEE software engineer). Around 25,000 is not a LinkedIn value but our rounding; more than a thousand per quarter is 17% of 25,000, divided by four.
Occupational counts come from CBS StatLine table 86320NED (employed labour force by occupation, BRC 2014), retrieved 29 September 2026: occupation 0814 software and application developers (229,000 in Q2 2026, of whom 199,000 employees, 153,000 on a permanent contract, 30,000 self-employed and 65,000 aged 45 or older; 91,000 in 2013) and for comparison occupation 0813 systems analysts and ICT advisers (46% aged 45 or older). Switching figures come from table 85390NED, second quarter 2026. Vacancies come from table 85081NED, annual figures 2018 to 2025. All CBS tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.
Sources
- CBS StatLine, 86320NED, Employed labour force; occupation (Q2 2026)
- CBS StatLine, 85390NED, Employees; change of employer (Q2 2026)
- CBS StatLine, 85081NED, New vacancies; occupational classification ROA-CBS 2014 (2018 to 2025)
- LinkedIn Talent Insights via LinkedIn Recruiter, retrieved 29 September 2026