It's no secret that tech skills are in high demand. And a surprisingly small number of people know how to code. According to a 2021 Developer Nation survey, there are an estimated 26.8 million software developers worldwide — a number projected to double by 2030. In the U.S., the tech sector employs around 9 million people, according to the 2022 State of the Tech Workforce by CompTIA.

Only a fraction of the population can code. And even if you don't work in tech, learning to code can pay off in major ways. Why should you learn to code? In addition to all the tech jobs that use coding, understanding programming languages can pay off professionally and personally. A growing number of roles benefit from coding knowledge even outside of tech. So here are the top reasons why you should learn to code.