Google has announced its annual Year End Zeitgeist, and with it, the most popular searches that were made throughout the year, both locally and globally.

The company noted that this year is auspicious, as it marks Google’s most global Zeitgeist to date - with more than one thousand top 10 lists across categories like Trending People, Most-Searched Events and Top Trending Searches from 72 countries, including South Africa.

Truly and still Number One

Not at all surprisingly, Nelson Mandela came in at number one this year both locally and internationally following his death.

Other news headlines that have caught South Africans’ attention over the year include the court appearance of Oscar Pistorius and the death of Vuyo Mbuli. The now much reviled professional huntress, Melissa Bachman, raised many eyebrows after her South African hunting experience, resulting in a roar of heated social media debates around the topic - she comes in fourth to Margaret Thatcher and was followed by Kim Kardashian’s baby (named North West) and South African model, Reeva Steenkamp.

When it comes to ‘fads’, it seems everyone has exploded into the ‘harlem shake’ on a dance floor at some stage in 2013, which shimmies it’s way to the “top fad” spot. Close behind it in popularity is ‘twerking’ - made famous by Miley Cyrus and now added to the English language by the Oxford online dictionary.

Some of the terms that had South Africans dashing to Google to found out what they meant included twerking (disturbingly at the number one spot), Lte, Seo and Monsanto.

More specifically, take a look at the lists below to see who and what caused the greatest stir in the world of online search.

Top Trending South African Searches

1.     Nelson Mandela

2.     Oscar Pistorius

3.     Paul Walker

4.     Defencex

5.     Vuyo Mbuli

6.     OLX

7.     Standard Bank internet

8.     BBM for Android

9.     Reeva Steenkamp

10.  Royal Baby

Top Trending Fads

1.     Harlem Shake

2.     Twerking

3.     Gangman Style

4.     Wrecking Ball

5.     Minions

South Africa Most Searched: Politicians

1.     Jacob Zuma

2.     Julius Malema

3.     Thabo Mbeki

4.     Lindiwe Mazibuko

5.     Mamphela Ramphele

6.     Helen Zille

7.     Cyril Ramaphosa

8.     Blade Nzimande

9.     Gwede Mantashe

10.  Trevor Manuel

South Africa Trending: Technology

1.     BBM For Android

2.     WeChat

3.     Samsung Galaxy S4

4.     Blackberry 10

5.     IOS 7

6.     Bitstrips

7.     Iphone 5s

8.     Samsung Galaxy S3

9.     Xbox One

10.  Fifa 14

South Africa Trending: Gaming

1.     Fifa 14

2.     Atari Breakout

3.     Gta V

4.     Kings Of Chaos

5.     SimCity

South Africa Trending: What Is…

1.     Twerking

2.     E-Communication

3.     Instagram

4.     Christmas

5.     Lte

6.     Sake

7.     Refugee

8.     Seo

9.     Monsanto

10.  Research

On the global side, following Nelson Mandela at the number one spot for the most trending search of the year was Paul Walker, who tragically and unexpectedly died in a car crash, and then the iPhone 5s. The third death that captured the world’s attention was Glee star Cory Monteith, with more death and tragedy coming in at the number six spot with the Boston Marathon. Technology also made its presence felt, with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the PlayStation 4 grabbing the number 8 and number 9 spots respectively.

As far as the most searched for global events during 2013, the Boston Marathon was followed by Typhoon Haiyan, the (US) government shutdown, 2014 FIFA World Cup and then the Chinese New Year.

Top Trending Global Searches

1.     Nelson Mandela

2.     Paul Walker

3.     iPhone 5s

4.     Cory Monteith

5.     Harlem Shake

6.     Boston Marathon

7.     Royal Baby

8.     Samsung Galaxy S4

9.     PlayStation 4

10.  North Korea

“Every day, around the world and across South Africa, we search. We want to find out more about people who are making an impact on the world, to learn about events that are making headlines, or just to settle a dinner table dispute between friends. In our annual Year-End Zeitgeist, we reflect on the people, places, and moments that captured the world’s attention throughout the year,” elaborated Julie Taylor, the head of communications for Google Sub-Saharan Africa.

To see all the lists, as well as a rather interesting 3D global map showcasing the top search trends of 2013 by day in cities around the world, head over to Google’s Zeitgeist homepage (now you don’t even need to search for it).