The Emerging Tech Hubs in Eastern Europe: Top 5 by Wild.Codes
The ever-changing IT sector is ruled by tech solutions, innovations, and trendy approaches that hit the global arena. But the main heroes are still people! According to the latest Developer Nation research, the number of programmers worldwide is going to reach 45 million by 2030. The most skillful IT specialists can be found in the USA, Eastern Europe, LATAM, and Asia.
It goes without saying that Eastern European specialists are always in favor due to the convenient time zone, affordable hourly price tags, and solid technical skills. These programmers are notable for their remote-friendly working format and self-discipline, together with stress resistance & proficiency in English. If you are searching for a professional tech expert, review the top 5 tech hubs in Eastern Europe.
1. Ukraine
The HackerRank score here is about 89%. It is possible to find a skillful technician for e-commerce, fintech, health, and many other IT projects. The talent pool is impressive in Ukraine – more than 285,000 programmers. Together with solid hard skills, Ukrainian tech experts are great in communication, English, and time management.
This is the heart of Eastern European IT culture today. Ukraine is an emerging tech hub in 2024. The prospects for this country in the context of IT services are perfect despite the Russian invasion:
invasion:
- 3.000+ startups;
- 145+ grants for 2025;
- Ever-rising business, data science, and technology skills;
- Advanced offshore & nearshore networking capabilities, etc.
Ukraine: Tech Highlights
Kyiv
The heart of the Ukrainian tech hub is Kyiv. Most global giants have local offices here, including those of Microsoft, Google, and Samsung. The renowned unicorns took their start in Kyiv. The capital of Ukraine gave birth to Genesis, Grammarly, and GitLab.
Despite the Russian aggression, some offline conferences with foreign attendees take place here. But mostly, events are held online now. Kyiv-based technicians are prominent guests in any European IT workshops and seminars like Clean Architecture Masterclass, Clean Code, and AWS Notes.
2.Poland
Digital representation of Poland, featuring a map overlaid with the Polish flag, surrounded by futuristic data visuals and technology elements.
This country became a high-tech destination for natives and relocated Ukrainians, which make a specialty out of programming in 2022-2024. It is not surprising that the number of Poland-based technicians is ever-rising – up to 405,000 IT experts. This is an emerging tech hub in Eastern Europe for many reasons:
- 98% HackerRank score;
- High competencies in technology, data science, and business skills;
- Excellent employment conditions and business microclimate;
- Transparent IT industry exports;
- The popularity of R&D centers to hire local engineers faster, and many more.
Such flagship companies have local offices in Poland, including Motorola, Delphi, and IBM. It is expected that this emerging European tech hub will not lose its ranking and leading positions among employers. The Polish IT market growth is predicted to reach $5 million by 2025.
Poland: Tech Highlights
Warsaw
The most considerable number of startups appear in Warsaw (up to 1.800 in 2024). The capital of Poland develops local tech environments due to educational opportunities for potential IT specialists. Programming can be learned at the University of Warsaw and the University of Technology. Nevertheless, this city is not the only colossal IT cluster in Poland. Most offline tech conferences are held in Krakow, including AZUREDAY Poland 2025, BoilingFrogs, and Scalar.
3. Czech Republic
The Czech IT environment is ever-developing in 2024. This country in Eastern Europe is notable for automotive innovations and lens solutions. More than 127,000 technicians live in the Czech Republic, while the HackerRank score is relatively high – 90.7%. About 700 startup companies are based in this country. The primary focuses of local technicians are data analytics, software development, and cybersecurity.
Czech Republic: Tech Highlights
Prague
More than half of all the startups in the Czech Republic are located in Prague. This is the heart of this emerging tech hub in Eastern Europe. Prague is notable for its high schools for future programmers. It is possible to get high-level technical education at Charles University, University of Chemistry & Technology, and Czech Technical University (Prague).
Most IT conferences are also held in Prague. For 2025, Data Point 2025, CzechDreamin’, and DevopsDays 2025 are planned here. Among global flagship tech corporations with Prague offices are Red Hat, SAP, and Oracle.
4. Romania
Meet one more Eastern European tech hub – Romania welcomes with 142+ thousands of programmers and a high HackerRank index – about 82%. The notable feature of this country is a focus on STEM education with the main goal of graduating skillful IT specialists in 2025 and further years. Locals speak English fluently and are very self-disciplined like other Eastern European developers.
The steady growth of the Romanian IT sector is expected, with a forecasted tech market size of $1.8 million by 2029. Amazon, Oracle, Microsoft, and other famous global corporations have local offices in Romania.
Romania: Tech Highlights
Bucharest
The heart of the Romanian tech hub is Bucharest, which has well-known universities (Politechnica, University of Bucharest, etc.). Most local offices of flagship technology companies are located in this city as well. Bucharest gave birth to 260+ startups in 2024 and will host several important IT conferences in 2025 (Crypto Expo Europe, Voxxed Days, and Cloud Native Days).
5. Slovakia
Slovakia can be considered the emerging tech hub in Eastern Europe for its significant features like numerous co-working spaces, solid infrastructure, and great government grants that support outsourcing in the country. Research is in favor here. That is why more and more tech and innovation-driven businesses appear in Slovakia year by year.
The IT sector is expected to grow in 2025. The forecasted Slovakian tech market size by 2028 will be about $9.5 billion. Local programmers are competent in various niches like fintech, healthcare, and cybersecurity. The geographical position of Slovakia allows IT specialists to hit neighboring countries for nearshore employment opportunities (Poland, Austria, etc.).
Slovakia: Tech Highlights
Bratislava
Local developers can join any of 1the 38+ accessible startups in Bratislava. This is the actual cluster in Slovakia with high educational and self-development capabilities in this city. Future programmers can enter the Slovak University of Technology (Bratislava) or Comenius University. The most discussed conferences held here are Clean Code: The Next Level and BSIDES.
Together with Bratislava, Slovakia is well-known for other locations with sound tech backgrounds. For example, there are many programmers and IT companies in Košice and Trnava. Among famous global corporations with local offices in these cities are IBM, Amazon, and Dell.
To Sum Up
Wild.Codes believes that Eastern Europe will become your top-priority employment destination in 2025. And our task is to help you with the search for talented and competent programmers. Find your perfect match with the help of our exclusive options. The best developers from Eastern Europe, including Ukrainian, Romanian, Czech, Polish, and Slovakian devs are waiting for your projects!
• PHP expertise;
• Database management skills;
•Jungling traits, methods, objects, and classes;
• Agile & Waterfall understanding and use;
• Soft skills (a good team player, high-level communication, excellent problem-solving background, and many more)
• OOP & MVS deep understanding;
• Knowledge of the mechanism of how to manage project frameworks;
• Understanding of the business logic the project meets;
• Cloud computing & APIs expertise.
• Reasonable life-work balance;
• The opportunity to implement the server-side logic via Laravel algorithms;
• Hassle-free interaction with back-end and front-end devs;
• Strong debugging profile.
• Using HTML, XHTML, SGML, and similar markup languages
• Improving the usability of the digital product
• Prototyping & collaboration with back-end JS experts
• Delivery of high-standard graphics and graphic-related solutions
• Using JS frameworks (AngularJS, VueJS, ReactJS, etc
• Clean coding delivery and timely debugging & troubleshooting solution delivery
• UI testing and collaboration with front-end JS teammates
• Database experience
• Building APIs while using REST or similar tech solutions
• Collaboration with project managers and other devs
• Delivery of design architecture solutions
• Creation of designs & databases
• Implementation of data protection and web cybersecurity strategies.
• Both front-end and back-end qualifications