Google has released its 2025 Year in Search for South Africa, showing what people in the country tried to understand, fix, follow and debate over the past year.
Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi was one of the major subjects of South Africa’s top searches for 2025. The company said his visibility grew through regular media briefings and increased scrutiny of his work, with searches for him surging in July when he accused senior political leaders and police officials of corruption.
Recurring events such as Earth Day also ranked highly, reflecting sustained public interest in climate change and environmental issues.
AI emerged as another defining theme this year, marking a turning point in how South Africans engaged with search and embedding it more deeply into everyday information-seeking behaviours. The report authors said the surge in queries such as “Google Gemini” highlights the country’s rapid embrace of emerging technology and a growing desire to understand and access powerful AI tools.
Searches for the G20 summit and the budget speech featured prominently in the top “When is” searches, highlighting strong public interest in political and economic developments.
Practical financial matters also drew attention, with the new two-pot retirement system appearing among the top “How to” searches, showing people’s desire to understand the policy and navigate online withdrawals.
On the entertainment front, the top-trending “How to” search was “How to vote on Big Brother”, highlighting South Africans’ intense engagement with a fiercely competitive season that dominated social media and everyday conversation.
Scotts Maphuma also ranked among the top-searched artists, driven by a string of viral videos and public incidents that pushed him into the spotlight and fuelled widespread discussion about his behaviour towards fans and its possible effect on his career.
For food trends, pickled fish emerged as the top trending recipe of 2025. Searches spiked over Easter and later in the year, fuelled by modern twists shared online, showcasing a blend of tradition, nostalgia and viral food culture.
Sports searches reflected South Africans’ diverse interests. International footballer Diogo Jota, who died this year, was the most searched athlete, followed by the Rugby Championship log table, which tracks the progress of the four-nation annual tournament featuring South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina. Women’s sports also featured prominently, with the Women’s Rugby World Cup and Women’s Cricket World Cup ranking among the top 10 searches.
South Africans also reflected on the legacies of cultural icons we lost this year. Singer Winnie Khumalo’s musical contributions were widely celebrated, while searches spiked for Presley Chweneyagae and Nandi Nyembe, whose passing prompted nationwide recognition of their impact on film and TV. These trends underscore the enduring influence of artists whose work continues to inspire and resonate across generations.
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