The  annual Google Year in Search was revealed today, with the South African version focusing on top trending South African searches, personalities, recipes, TV shows, and a new addition, services that are nearby.

Mich Atagana, the head of communications and public affairs at Google South Africa, explained that for its launch the company decided to make a museum of search in the past year at its offices. This was in a bid to paint a visual picture of what has been on the minds of South Africans during the course of the year.

She noted that one of the distinguishing features of this year’s search results was that much of it was focused more fully on the country itself, with there being a growing interest in local celebrities and events. Indeed,  seven of the top 10 trending search terms (see below) are local, in contrast to fewer than half last year.

The new list, The Top Trending Searches Near Me, revealed that South Africans really care about fast food (Steers, KFC and sushi featured prominently). But they also frequently searched for services such as pharmacies, dentists, doctors and printing shops that are close to their location.

Atagana added that the results also had some surprises. While Game of Thrones featured heavily in the Top TV Series searched for (no surprise there), so too did Sex and in the City make a comeback. Another example of this was in the top recipes - with how to make oxtail winning first spot.

She pointed out that additionally, the search results were not what she expected - Donald Trump, for example, did not feature on the South African searches, but natural disasters like Hurricane Irma did. With the exception of Game of Thrones, the rest of the top trending search results were largely new when compared with previous years.

For the full lists of what South Africans have taken to searching for over the course of this year, take a look below.

Top trending South African searches

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

Trending personalities

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

Top ‘near me’ searches

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

Top TV Shows

1.     13 reasons why

2.     Games 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

Top searched recipes

1.     Oxtail recipes

2.     Sweet potato recipes

3.     Beef stew recipes

4.     Vegan recipes

5.     Creamed spinach recipes

6.     Halal recipes

7.     Prawn recipes

8.     Spaghetti recipes

9.     Cauliflower recipes

10.  Bread recipes