Research News South Africa

Google search trends in South Africa

Google has released the most searched topics on the search engine over the past 15 years.

A look at the list reveals that, among other things, South Africans use the internet to find the answer to pressing questions, stay informed on topical issues, connect to government services, keep up with their favourite public figures and look for work, food, entertainment and health-related information.

As Google celebrates the 15th anniversary of Google Trends, here is a look at some of the top Google searches in South Africa over the past 15 years:

Top searched questions

Where to stay?
How to make money fast?
How to make love?
What is love?
What is my IP?
How to make pancakes?
How to download from Youtube?
How to kiss?
How to lose weight?
How to lose belly fat?

Top searched sports and tournaments

La Liga
Champions League
English Premier League
PSL standings
Rugby World Cup
Serie A
FA Cup
England Championship
Europa League
Nedbank Cup

Top searched South Africans

Cassper Nyovest
Cyril Ramaphosa
Julius Malema
Jacob Zuma
Bonang Matheba
Zodwa Wabantu
Black Coffee
Babes Wodumo
Senzo Meyiwa
Pearl Thusi

Top current affairs searches

Load shedding
Coronavirus South Africa
National treasury
Election Results
Heritage Day
Boko Haram
Hoërskool Driehoek
Curfew South Africa
Ramaphosa’s Wife
Chesterville Durban

Top job searches

DPSA vacancies
Career Junction
Job mail
Gumtree jobs
Eskom vacancies
Government vacancies
Transnet vacancies
Jobs in Pretoria
Best jobs
DPSA circular

Top searched government services

Home affairs
Department of labour
Department of Education
E-filing
Department of Home Affairs
Post office
City of Johannesburg
City of Tshwane
City Power
Department of Justice

Top searched educational services

My Unisa
Google Scholar
UP portal
Puff and pass
University of Pretoria
Google Classroom
Department of Education
UJ Ulink
TUT ITS
Rosebank College

Top searched international celebrities

Kim Kardashian
Chris Brown
Justin Bieber
Lil Wayne
Christiano Ronaldo
Donald Trump
Ariana Grande
Taylor Swift
Lady Gaga
One Direction

Top searched “lyrics”

All of me lyrics
Hallelujah lyrics
Hello by Adele lyrics
Despacito lyrics
Thinking out loud lyrics
Amazing grace lyrics
Panda lyrics
Drunk in love lyrics
Say something lyrics
WAP lyrics

Top food-related searches

Romans Pizza
KFC menu
Nandos menu
Debonairs pizza
Ocean basket
Chicken licken menu
Food lovers market
Pizza perfect
Uber Eats
Burger King menu

Top health-related searches

Banting diet
Pregnancy signs
Apple cider vinegar
NHLS login
Symptoms of coronavirus
Chicken pox
Cystic Fibrosis
Lower back pain
Citro soda
Blood in urine

Search trends information is gleaned from data collated by Google based on what South Africans have been searching for. Google processes more than 40,000 search queries every second. This translates to more than a billion searches per day and 1.2tn searches per year worldwide. ‘Top searches’ indicate searches that topped Google’s charts while ‘most searched’ queries are the most popular terms for the past 15 years, ranked in order by volume of searches. Live Google search trends data is available here.

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