Is COBOL Still Used in 2026? Why This 65-Year-Old Language Still Matters

When people hear about COBOL, they often picture dusty mainframes and punch cards from a bygone era. Surely a programming language that debuted in 1959 has been replaced by something more modern by now? The answer might surprise you. COBOL is not only still in use in 2026, it remains one of the most critical languages underpinning the global economy. Here is why this 65-year-old language still matters and why learning it could be one of the smartest career moves you make.

The Short Answer: Yes, COBOL Is Very Much Alive

COBOL, which stands for Common Business-Oriented Language, continues to power an enormous portion of the world's business infrastructure. Despite decades of predictions about its demise, COBOL systems process more transactions daily than any other technology stack on the planet.

The numbers are staggering. An estimated 95% of ATM transactions rely on COBOL code. Roughly 80% of all in-person financial transactions pass through COBOL systems at some point in the processing chain. Approximately 43% of banking systems are built on COBOL, and the language processes an estimated $3 trillion in daily commerce. There are over 220 billion lines of COBOL code in active production use worldwide.

These are not legacy systems limping along until they can be replaced. These are mission-critical applications that the modern economy depends on every single day.

Industries That Depend on COBOL

COBOL's footprint extends across virtually every sector where large-scale transaction processing and data management are essential.

Banking and Financial Services represent COBOL's largest domain. Core banking systems, payment processing networks, loan management platforms, and credit card processing systems overwhelmingly run on COBOL. When you swipe a credit card, withdraw cash from an ATM, or receive a direct deposit, COBOL code is almost certainly involved in processing that transaction. Major institutions including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citibank maintain massive COBOL codebases.

Insurance companies rely on COBOL for policy management, claims processing, actuarial calculations, and regulatory reporting. The insurance industry's complex data processing needs align perfectly with what COBOL was designed to do, and many of these systems have been refined over decades to handle enormous volumes with exceptional reliability.

Government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels depend heavily on COBOL. The Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Veterans Affairs all run critical systems on COBOL. State unemployment systems, many of which made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic due to processing backlogs, run on COBOL. Medicare and Medicaid claims processing relies on COBOL code that has been in continuous operation for decades.

Healthcare organizations use COBOL for claims processing, patient record management, and billing systems. The complex regulatory requirements of healthcare, with their detailed record-keeping and reporting mandates, are well served by COBOL's data processing strengths.

Retail and Transportation round out the picture. Major retailers use COBOL for inventory management and point-of-sale systems. Airlines rely on COBOL for reservation systems and flight scheduling. Supply chain management systems frequently have COBOL at their core.

The COBOL Developer Shortage

Here is where the story gets particularly interesting for anyone considering their career options. The COBOL workforce is aging, and the pipeline of new COBOL developers has been thin for years.

Many of the programmers who built and maintained these systems entered the workforce in the 1970s and 1980s. They are now retiring in large numbers. Industry estimates suggest that roughly 75% of the existing COBOL developer workforce will retire within the next decade. Some surveys place the average age of a COBOL programmer above 55.

Meanwhile, most universities stopped teaching COBOL years ago, focusing instead on languages like Python, JavaScript, and Java. The result is a widening gap between the demand for COBOL expertise and the supply of developers who possess it.

This shortage has real consequences. Organizations that depend on COBOL systems need developers to maintain, update, and enhance their code. They need people who can implement regulatory changes, integrate COBOL systems with modern APIs and cloud services, and ensure these systems continue to perform reliably.

The economic law of supply and demand applies directly here. COBOL developers command strong salaries precisely because so few people have the skills and so many organizations need them. Experienced COBOL programmers frequently earn six-figure salaries, and contract rates for COBOL specialists can be exceptionally lucrative.

Why Modernization Is Harder Than It Seems

A natural question arises: why not just rewrite everything in a modern language? The answer reveals why COBOL will remain relevant for years to come.

Scale and complexity. We are talking about hundreds of billions of lines of code, much of it refined over decades to handle incredibly specific business logic. Rewriting this code is not a simple translation exercise. It requires understanding every business rule, every edge case, and every interaction that has been encoded over 40 or 50 years of continuous development.

Risk. These systems process trillions of dollars in transactions. A failed migration could mean ATMs going down, payments not processing, or government benefits not reaching recipients. The tolerance for error is essentially zero, which makes organizations understandably cautious about wholesale replacement.

Cost. Large-scale migration projects routinely run into the billions of dollars. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia spent over $1 billion and five years replacing its core banking platform. Many organizations simply cannot justify that level of investment when their existing COBOL systems work reliably.

Failed attempts. The history of COBOL replacement projects is littered with expensive failures. Many organizations have tried to migrate away from COBOL only to abandon the effort after spending millions or billions of dollars. These cautionary tales make decision-makers even more reluctant to attempt full replacement.

The more realistic path for most organizations is modernization rather than replacement. This means wrapping COBOL systems with modern APIs, connecting them to cloud services, building modern front-end interfaces that communicate with COBOL back ends, and gradually updating the COBOL code itself to meet current standards. All of this work requires people who understand COBOL.

COBOL in the Age of AI

The rise of AI tools has added a new dimension to the COBOL story. AI-assisted programming tools are increasingly being used to help understand, document, and modernize legacy COBOL codebases. These tools can help translate COBOL code into more readable documentation, identify potential issues, and even assist with migration efforts.

However, AI tools have not eliminated the need for human COBOL expertise. Understanding the business context behind COBOL code, validating that translations preserve critical business logic, and making architectural decisions about modernization strategies all require experienced professionals. If anything, AI is creating new roles that combine COBOL knowledge with modern technology skills.

Why Learning COBOL Is a Smart Career Move

For anyone evaluating career options in technology, COBOL presents a compelling and often overlooked opportunity.

Job security. COBOL systems are not going away anytime soon. The combination of enormous installed codebase, high migration costs, and critical importance to global infrastructure ensures steady demand for COBOL skills for decades to come.

Strong compensation. The developer shortage means organizations pay premium rates for COBOL expertise. Entry-level COBOL positions often pay more than equivalent roles in more popular languages, and experienced COBOL developers can command exceptional salaries and contract rates.

Less competition. While millions of developers compete for JavaScript or Python positions, the COBOL talent pool is small and shrinking. Learning COBOL puts you in a much less crowded market.

Interesting work. COBOL systems sit at the heart of how the modern economy functions. Working on banking systems, government infrastructure, or insurance platforms means your work has real, tangible impact on millions of people.

Gateway to modernization. Organizations are actively seeking professionals who understand both COBOL and modern technologies. If you can bridge that gap, working with APIs, cloud platforms, and AI tools alongside COBOL, you become exceptionally valuable.

Get Started with COBOL

Learning COBOL in 2026 is easier than you might think. The language was designed from the beginning to be readable and business-oriented. Its syntax reads almost like English, which makes it more approachable than many developers expect.

The Learning COBOL textbook provides a comprehensive, modern introduction to COBOL programming. It covers the language fundamentals, file handling, data processing, and the practical skills you need to work with real COBOL systems. Whether you are a complete beginner to programming or an experienced developer adding COBOL to your toolkit, it gives you a structured path from first concepts to professional competence.

In a tech industry obsessed with the newest and shiniest tools, COBOL is a reminder that value and relevance are not always about being new. Sometimes the most strategic career move is learning the language that quietly runs the world.