Revealed - what SA searched on Google in 2017

South Africans were seeking answers to a lot of burning questions over the course of 2017 and among the most frequently asked on Google was‚ “What is junk status?”

Global search engine Google released its “What was trending in 2017” statistics on Wednesday. They reveal a unique perspective‚ not only on some of the big moments of the year‚ based on searches conducted globally and locally‚ but what people were watching on television and even planning to cook for dinner.

Bitcoin‚ belly fat‚ cyclone Dineo‚ xenophobia and junk status were popular search topics in South Africa. We were hungry for information about people such as slain actor Dumi Masilela‚ television drama series Game of Thrones and the perfect recipe for oxtail and sweet potatoes.

Trending searches showed a growing interest in local celebrities and events and how South Africans are increasingly turning to the internet to find local businesses near to them.

The top 10 questions searched for in South Africa were:

1. What is Dineo?
2. What is bitcoin?
3. Who won the money fight?
4. What role can the private sector play in poverty alleviation?
5. How to lose belly fat?
6. How old is Simphiwe Ngema?
7. What is happening in Zimbabwe?
8. How to make slime?
9. What is junk status?
10. How to manage xenophobia?

The top 10 global searches were about:

1. Hurricane Irma
2. iPhone 8
3. iPhone X
4. Matt Lauer
5. Meghan Markle
6. 13 Reasons Why
7. Tom Petty
8. Fidget Spinner
9. Chester Bennington
10. India National Cricket Team

The top trending searches in South Africa were:

1. Dumi Masilela
2. Zimbabwe
3. Cyclone Dineo
4. Joe Mafela
5. Karabo Mokoena
6. Joost van der Westhuizen
7. Black Friday
8. Mayweather vs McGregor fight
9. Fast & Furious 8
10. Hurricane Irma

South African personalities that were searched for included:

1. Dumi Masilela
2. Joe Mafela
3. Joost van der Westhuizen
4. Zodwa Wabantu
5. Mandla Hlatshwayo
6. Lundi Tyamara
7. Simphiwe Ngema
8. Grace Mugabe 
9. Hugh Hefner
10. Chester Bennington

South Africa's top "near me" searches were for:

1. Pharmacy near me
2. Dentist near me
3. KFC near me
4. Jobs hiring near me
5. Hardware store near me
6. Gynaecologist near me
7. Printing shops near me
8. Steers near me
9. Sushi near me
10. Doctors near me

South Africa's top TV show searches were:

1. 13 reasons why
2. Game of Thrones
3. Isibaya
4. Uzalo
5. Big Brother Naija
6. American Gods
7. Idols SA
8. Sex in the City
9. Big Little Lies
10. Riverdale

And the most sought-after recipes from South Africa were:

1. Oxtail recipes
2. Sweet potato recipes
3. Beef stew recipes
4. Vegan recipes
5. Creamed spinach recipes
6. Halaal recipes
7. Prawn recipes
8. Spaghetti recipes
9. Cauliflower recipes
10. Bread recipes

Check out more from Google's Year in Search 2017 here: www.google.co.za/2017