From major political shifts to the viral ‘Labubu’ craze, Nigerians turned to Google Search in 2025 to make sense of a year packed with big questions and even bigger cultural moments. Today, Google’s annual Year in Search lists offer a fascinating digital snapshot of the nation’s curiosity, revealing a country deeply engaged with its leaders, its artists, and the icons who shaped its history.
Politics and People Take Center Stage
This year, Nigerians used Search to stay on top of a fast-moving news cycle. High-profile figures drove significant interest, with Senator Natasha Akpoti emerging as the #1 most searched Nigerian personality, highlighting how central political discourse was throughout the year. Beyond the domestic scene, Nigerians also kept a close watch on international events, with the Israel-Iran War and the US Elections featuring heavily in search trends.
The nation also paused to honor the legacies of titans who left a lasting mark. The passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari triggered a massive wave of searches, as people looked back on his tenure. In the sporting world, fans bid a solemn farewell to Peter Rufai, the iconic former Super Eagles goalkeeper, revisiting career highlights and his contributions to the national team. Search interest also grew around the passing of Pope Francis, marking a moment of reflection for many.
The Sounds and Stories of Nigeria
Entertainment in 2025 was undeniably Nigerian-led. The Trending Songs list shows a nation seeking both spiritual upliftment and high-energy Afrobeats. The gospel resonance of ‘Oluwatosin (Jesus Is Enough)’ by Tkeyz ft. Steve Hills topped the charts, balanced by the infectious energy of ‘Joy is Coming’ by Fido and major collaborations like Davido and Omah Lay’s ‘With You.’
Local pride surged in the film industry as well. Director Kemi Adetiba ranked among the most searched personalities, driven by the success of the hit show To Kill a Monkey, which stood out as the most searched local series.
Decoding Culture, from Slang to the Kitchen
The most colorful insights come from how Nigerians interacted with internet culture. In 2025, Search became the go-to tool for decoding viral trends. The questions list was dominated by people asking, “What is Labubu?”, while the meaning of “Achalugo”, popularized by the YouTube film Love in Every Word, also sent people searching.
In the kitchen, local palates grew more adventurous. Nigerians turned to Google for recipes ranging from the staple Chinchin to the trending Pornstar Martini and health-focused Ginger Shots, blending traditional tastes with global trends.
“The 2025 Year in Search is more than just data; it’s a vibrant, unfiltered mirror of our collective attention,” said Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications & Public Affairs Manager for West Africa. “Whether it’s tracking the biggest headlines, reflecting on the legacies of icons we lost, or simply figuring out the latest slang, these lists show that Nigerians are using Search to actively engage with the world around them.”
You can explore the complete 2025 Year in Search lists for Nigeria on the official Google Trends site: https://trends.withgoogle.com/
Explore the full 2025 Year in Search data for Nigeria below.
|
News Club World Cup Diogo Jota Buhari Charlie Kirk iPhone 17 Israel-Iran War Pope Francis Hulk Hogan Natasha Akpoti Peter Rufai |
Personalities (Nigerian) Natasha Akpoti Eberechi Eze Fubara Chika Ike Mr Eazi Kemi Adetiba Ajibola Elizabeth Hilda Baci VDM Priscilla Ojo |
Personalities (Global) Gyokeres Garnacho Joao Pedro Aaron Pierre Tyler Perry Michele Lamy Larry Ellison Kim Sae Ron Teyana Taylor Paul Biya |
Personalities (Sports) Gyokeres Garnacho Xavi Simons Sesko Mbeumo Joao Pedro Eberechi Eze Andre Silva Isak Noni Madueke |
Personalities (Artistes) Aaron Pierre Chika Ike Juma Jux Mr Eazi Kemi Adetiba Kim Sae Ron Mavo Peju Ogunmola Teyana Taylor Fola |
Devices iPhone 17 Tecno Pop 10 Pop 10 Straw Redmi 14C Redmi 15C Tecno Spark 40 Redmi A5 Infinix Note 50 Pro Redmi 15 |
|
Loss Diogo Jota Buhari Charlie Kirk Pope Francis Hulk Hogan Uma Ukpai Peter Rufai Sanku Nkechi Nweje Doyin Okupe |
Meaning Achalugo meaning allegedly meaning Labubu meaning Kelebu meaning demure meaning Ozempic meaning Sope Purr meaning nepo baby meaning Shayla meaning Oblee meaning |
Questions Who is Charlie Kirk? Who is Seyi Vodi? Who is the new pope? Who is Tompolo? What is Labubu? What is state of emergency? What is war crime What is the meaning of Kelebu? Who is Michele Lamy? Who is the biggest streamer in Africa? |
Recipes Pornstar Martini recipe Ginger Shot recipe Chinchin recipe Sausage Roll recipe Hummus recipe Chickwizz recipe Souffle Pancake recipe Lasagna recipe Chinese Rice recipe Asun Rice recipe |
Lyrics With You by Davido ft Omah Lay lyrics Oluwatosin lyrics XXXTentacion Hope lyrics Joy Is Coming lyrics by Fido Favour It Surrounds Me Like a Shield lyrics Arike lyrics XXX Vice City lyrics Laho lyrics Shaolin by Seyi Vibez lyrics Day by Day by Simi ft Kizz Daniel lyrics |
|
|
Songs Oluwatosin (Jesus Is Enough) Tkeyz Ft. SteveHills Joy Is Coming by Fido MP3 download Davido – With You ft. Omah Lay Shallipopi – Laho My Darling by Chella MP3 download Rema Fun Arike MP3 download Pity This Boy MP3 download Laho Teni Money |
Series Wednesday Season 2 Squid Game To Kill a Monkey Squid Game Season 2 Bon Appétit, Your Majesty Koleoso Beauty in Black Koleoso Part 6 Wata Shida Koleoso Part 7 |
Movies Straw movie Sinners Love in Every Word G20 movie The Gorge K-Pop: Demon Hunters 28 Years Later Fantastic Four Final Destination Superman 2025 |
|||
About Google Trends
This is a publicly available tool that displays relative search volume across geographies, time periods and queries that people want to know about. Google Trends lets you dive deep into what’s popular on the Internet — you can compare search data by time, location, and between queries. It also offers category filtering, top and rising searches, and geographic “heat maps”. The main two categories of searches are: ‘Trending’ and ‘Most Searched’.
The “trending” queries are the searches that had the highest amount of traffic over a specific period. The “most searched” queries are simply the most popular terms for a specific period, ranked in order by volume of searches.
About Google
Google’s mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.
For more information, visit Google Africa Blog: google-africa.blogspot.com. You can also follow Google’s Africa team on Twitter: https://www.google.com/search?
