A Year in Pakistan Search: Google's Top Searches of 2013

KARACHI: Google announced its annual Year End Zeitgeist, a look at 2013 through the collective eyes of the world on the web, offering a unique perspective on the year's major events and hottest trends based on searches conducted in Pakistan.

This year's trending searches show growing interest in sports, Bollywood movies, news, elections and Turkish dramas. On the other hand, the top people search indicates that Pakistanis follow a variety of local and international personalities where the top 3 people searched for were Paul Walker, Jiah Khan and Nelson Mandela.

Following sports online remained Pakistan’s top trending search and reflects the love for cricket as well as other sports among Pakistanis. Aashiqui 2, a Bollywood blockbuster earned the second top search spot with the movie’s songs being a massive hit among the Pakistani youth. Chennai Express bagged the third top search position and again reflects the strong inclination towards Bollywood movies in Pakistan. Bigg Boss 7, an Indian reality show hosted by popular Bollywood star Salman Khan, and Dunya News, a local news channel rounded up the top five search trends in Pakistan this year.

In people search, the latest international events and happenings dictated the top searched for people in Pakistan in the year 2013. The untimely death of the young actor of Fast & Furious acclaim, Paul Walker who lost his life in a tragic car accident became the most searched for personality. Followed by Jiah Khan, a Bollywood actress that committed suicide a few months ago and the death of the world renowned humanitarian, Nelson Mandela made him the third most searched for person on Google. Overall, the top 10 people search in Pakistan in 2013 reflects the fan following of both celebrities and politicians in Pakistan.

Trending Searches for 2013

1. PTV Sports Live
2. Aashiqui 2
3. Chennai Express
4. Bigg Boss 7
5. Dunya News
6. Zindagi Gulzar Hai
7. Jang newspaper
8. ECP
9. Krrish 3
10. Mera Sultan

Trending People for 2013

1. Paul Walker
2. Jiah Khan
3. Nelson Mandela
4. Maryam Nawaz
5. Shradda Kapoor
6. Altaf Hussain
7. Imran Khan
8. Alia Bhatt
9. Sara Bharwana
10. Suraj Pancholi

In addition to showcasing what people were curious about in Pakistan, Google also offers insights into which topics captured the world's attention in 2013 through its Zeitgeist tool. Top search terms from over fifty countries appear on Google Zeitgeist webpage, googlezeitgeist.com -- from most-searched travel destinations in Brazil, to trending Australian celebrities, to most-searched Egyptian Olympians, to top tech gadgets in Japan and everything in between.

Top 10 Global Trending Queries for 2013

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