Go eclipses Node.js in web API requests, Cloudflare reports

Go has surpassed Node.js as the most popular language used for making automated API requests, according to cloud provider Cloudflare’s annual review of internet trends.

More than half of the internet traffic seen by Cloudflare is API-related, and much of this traffic is automated API calls from dynamic websites and applications, the company wrote in its 2024 Cloudflare Radar Year in Review report. The most popular language for making these automated API requests, Cloudflare found, was Go, which topped the traffic numbers at 11.8%. Node.js was close behind with 10%, followed by Python at 9.6%, Java at 7.4%, and.NET at 3.6%. Go’s share increased by about 40%, Cloudflare said, while Node’s share fell by about 30%. The shares of Python and Java also rose, while.NET’s fell.

This year’s report marks Cloudflare’s fifth year of observing internet trends and patterns throughout the year at both and country/regional levels, across a variety of metrics. Trends and patterns are observed in Cloudflare’s global network. Other findings in this year’s report include the following:

Nearly one-third of mobile Internet traffic tracked was from Apple iOS devices. A bit more than two-thirds was from Android devices.

Global internet traffic grew 17.2% in 2024.

Nearly half of web requests used HTTP/2 and one-fifth used HTTP/3.

React, PHP, and jQuery were among the most popular technologies used to build websites. HubSpot, Google, and WordPress were among the most popular providers of supporting services and platforms.

Google is by the most popular search engine globally, with an 88% share.

Google Chrome is by far the most popular web browser, representing nearly 66% of web requests.

13% of TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.3 traffic is using post-quantum encryption.