South Africa's trending 2018 Google searches

© Benjamin Dada via Unsplash.com.

This year's trending searches show South Africans keen interest in local celebrities, news and events, with six of the top 10 trending search terms being local. The top personalities list also reflects this - three of the top 10 are politicians, two are sports stars, and the other five related to current affairs and news events.

The top questions list shows South Africans’ awareness of and curiosity about what is happening in the world around them - from celebrities to more personal concerns, while the ‘near me’ list shows just how much South Africans have come to rely on online sources to find businesses close to them. From the World Cup to listeriosis, Zuma and Global Citizen, South Africans use search to find the things they really need to know.

Top trending South African searches

1. World Cup fixtures
2. Load shedding
3. Global Citizen
4. Zuma
5. Winnie Mandela
6. HHP
7. Listeriosis
8. Black Panther
9. Meghan Markle
10. Mac Miller

Trending personalities

1. Zuma
2. Cyril Ramaphosa
3. Sbahle Mpisane
4. Kevin Anderson
5. Malusi Gigaba
6. Ashwin Willemse
7. Patrice Motsepe
8. Cheryl Zondi
9. Shamila Batohi
10. Mlindo the Vocalist

Top questions

1. How did Avicii die?
2. How old is Pharrell Williams? 
3. What is listeriosis? 
4. What is black data? 
5. How old is Prince Harry? 
6. How much are Global Citizen tickets? 
7. How to get pregnant? 
8. What time is the royal wedding? 
9. What happened to HHP? 
10. How old is Meghan Markle?

Top ‘near me’ searches

1. Jobs near me
2. Nandos near me
3. Dischem near me
4. McDonald's near me
5. Guest house near me
6. Postnet near me
7. Steers near me
8. Spar near me
9. Debonairs near me
10. Spur near me 

Top women

1. Winnie Mandela
2. Meghan Markle
3. Sbahle Mpisane
4. Aretha Franklin
5. Khloe Kardashian
6. Sophie Ndaba
7. Cheryl Zondi
8. Demi Lovato
9. Lerato Sengadi
10. Siam Lee