Google reveals the most searched terms of 2020, and the winner is…

Coronavirus, obviously

With 2020 coming closer to its end, Google has released its list of the terms, questions and phrases that were searched the maximum number of time during the year.

Unsurprisingly, the trending search terms this year were dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"2020 was the year we asked "why? "" - Google states in the introduction to its report.

In addition to coronavirus, people also asked questions about the US elections, Black Lives Matter, Australian bushfires, and the untimely deaths of Kobe Bryant, Maradona and Chadwick Boseman.

Google says "coronavirus" was the most searched term globally, with netizens flocking to the search engine to look for the latest news and updates about the pandemic situation around the world. People also frequently searched "coronavirus update" and "coronavirus symptoms" on Google, making them the seventh and eighth most searched terms, respectively.

The US elections triggered significant search activity in many countries, enabling "Election results" to grab the number 2 spot in the global list of most searched terms.

The untimely death of many celebrities also saw huge increase in searches related to them.

However, more people searched for "Kobe Bryant", the basketball player killed in a helicopter crash, than any other person's name in 2020, making it the top 3 trending search during the year.

Widespread lockdowns in many countries also prompted a huge spike in search related to home-schooling and remote working, as highlighted by "Zoom" taking fourth place with "Google Classroom" at number ten.

Interestingly, the excitement around the Indian Premier League (IPL) made it the fifth most trending query on Google Search.

US President-elect Joe Biden also emerged as one of the top trending personalities globally. According to Google, "Joe Biden" was the ninth most searched term on Google search.

"From the global pandemic to the history-making US elections, the year in search continues to recapitulate the top search trends, offering a unique perspective to the questions internet users have asked on Google Search," the company said.

In the UK, "Coronavirus" was the top trending search, followed by the "US Election". The tragic death of presenter Caroline Flack earlier this year also meant she was one of the most-searched figures in the UK this year.

Here are the top 10 Google search terms in the UK for 2020:

  1. Coronavirus
  2. US election
  3. Caroline Flack
  4. Coronavirus symptoms
  5. Coronavirus update
  6. Premier League
  7. Boris Johnson
  8. Eat Out to Help Out
  9. Kobe Bryant
  10. Kim Jong Un

Top questions searched by Britons on Google in 2020:

  1. Who won the election?
  2. Where does vanilla flavouring come from?
  3. How many cases of coronavirus in UK?
  4. What is VE Day?
  5. How did coronavirus start?
  6. When will lockdown end?
  7. How to make a face mask?
  8. How to make hand sanitizer?
  9. How many people have died from coronavirus?
  10. What time is Boris Johnson speech today?