GitHub’s 2020 State of the Octoverse Report Highlights: Developers are Working More Hours but Turning to Open Source Projects for Creative Outlets

more than 56 million developers who created 60+ million new repositories this past year

GitHub recorded 35% more repositories created than last year and 7.5 hours faster pull request merge times in teams’ most productive and collaborative weeks.

GitHub tracked an increase in open source activity on weekends and holidays, at the same time that Enterprise developer activity dropped. Open source project creation is also up by 25% year over year since April 2020.

The data suggests that even when developers conclude their regular work, they are turning to open source projects for creative outlets. These projects often provide meaningful connections and community while the world is stuck at home.

GitHub reports that its community is becoming more diverse as those who identify as developers have decreased from 60% in 2016 to 54% in 2020. Profiles related to education are growing (up from 17% in 2016 to 23% in 2020), followed by users working in data. The platform is becoming more approachable for collaborators who do not come from a development background.