Python is a high-level, interpreted programming language that is widely used for general-purpose programming, data analysis, artificial intelligence, web development, and scientific computing. It was first released in 1991 and has since become one of the most popular programming languages in the world.

Python has several features that make it an attractive choice for many developers, including:

1. Simple and easy-to-learn syntax
2. Large and active community of developers
3. Multi-platform support, meaning that it can run on different operating systems like Windows, Linux, and macOS
4. Extensive standard library with a wide range of modules and functions for various purposes
5. Object-oriented programming support
6. Dynamic type system, meaning that the data type of a variable can be changed during runtime
7. Interpreted execution, meaning that you can run Python code without the need for a compiler.

Python has many popular libraries and frameworks, such as NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib, TensorFlow, Django, and Flask, that make it well-suited for data science, machine learning, web development, and many other areas.