Why You Should Upgrade from Python 3.8 Before Its End‑of‑Life in October 2024

Upgrading to a new software version is work and offers little benefit to users, who care about features and bug fixes rather than the latest version number.

Consequently, many people still use Python 3.8; as of September 2024 about 14% of packages downloaded from PyPI target Python 3.8, representing 250 million installations in a single day.

However, the upgrade window for Python 3.8 is limited because its lifecycle ends at the end of October 2024, after which there will be no further bug or security fixes.

No more bug fixes.

No more security patches.

What does “end of life” mean? Python 3.8 was released in October 2019; according to PEP 569, the first two years saw bug‑fix and security sub‑releases every two months, then only as‑needed security fixes, and support stops five years after release.

Thus October 2024 is the last month for Python 3.8; any security vulnerability discovered after that will not be fixed by the core development team.

While some long‑term‑support Linux distributions may continue to provide security updates for the Python package they ship, this support is limited in scope and duration (e.g., Ubuntu 20.04’s Python 3.8 support ends April 2025 for free updates).

Third‑party libraries are already dropping Python 3.8 support, meaning critical bugs may remain unfixed and Linux distributions rarely back‑port fixes for every library.

Package

Does latest version support 3.8?

Latest version that supports 3.8

NumPy

No

December 2022

Pandas

No

June 2023

Django 5.x

No

Never supported

It’s time to upgrade from 3.8

In the short term, aim to move to a Python version that still receives maintained dependencies; for example, the last Pandas version compatible with Python 3.8 was released June 2023, so you should at least upgrade to Python 3.9.

Python 3.x versions are fairly backward compatible, so you can upgrade stepwise:

Upgrade to 3.9.

Fix any discovered issues.

Upgrade to 3.10 and fix issues.

Repeat until you reach Python 3.12 or 3.13.

Other potential larger issues

Upgrade needs are ongoing, not a one‑off event:

Ubuntu 20.04 stops receiving free security updates in April 2025.

Python 3.9 stops receiving security updates in October 2025.

Django 5.2 stops receiving security updates in April 2026.

From the opposite perspective, newer Python releases have been published roughly every year:

Python 3.9 – October 2020

Python 3.10 – October 2021

Python 3.11 – October 2022

Python 3.12 – October 2023

If you are still on Python 3.8 in 2024, you likely have other priorities or organizational constraints; it is advisable to establish a regular process for updating versions and dependencies.