Natasha Akpoti, iPhone 17, Straw movie top Nigeria’s most searched trends on Google in 2025

In its 2025 Year in Search, Google has disclosed that keywords such as ‘iPhone 17’, ‘Straw Movie’ and ‘Natasha Akpoti’ were among the top search trends by Nigerians during the year. 

Google’s Year in Search is a global yearly analysis that showcases the top trending lists and projects what the world searches for, learn, and does. The annual reports reveal the most searched entries across categories such as news, notable individuals, movies, musicians, TV series, and curiosities that captured Nigeria’s interest.

While reacting to the trend, Simon Rogers, Data Editor of Google Trends, explained that the inclusion of AI capabilities in Google Search helped online users ask questions more conversationally, as if they were asking a friend. He expressed that 2025 saw more queries starting with “What’s the deal with” more than before. 

In 2025, people went further from just seeking answers to their queries to understand what works around them. Simon expressed that: 

“People want to understand more about the world around them. Searches for “Tell me about…” are up 70% year over year, and queries starting with “How do I…” reached an all-time high with a 25% increase from last year. And the latter included timely questions like “How do I know if my Labubu is real?” which rose to the top.”

Google Year in Search 2025: Nigeria 

In the Nigerian scene, keywords such as ‘Club World Cup’, ‘Diogo Jota’, ‘Buhari, ‘Charlie Kirk’, and ‘iPhone 17’ make the top five news searches during the year by Nigerians. The top two searches revealed the curiosity and popularity of football among Nigerian internet users. 

Natasha Hadiza Akpoti, a senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, is the most searched personality in Nigeria in 2025. Recall that the senator alleged that Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President of Nigeria, sexually harassed her.

Others among the most searched Nigerian personalities are Arsenal player ‘Eberechi Eze’, Rivers State Governor ‘Siminalayi Fabura’, Actress ‘Chika Ike’ and Music artist, ‘Mr Eazi’. 

In the movie chart, ‘Straw’, ‘Sinners’, ‘Love In Every World’, ‘To Kill a Monkey’ and ‘G20 Movie’ were in the top five most searched in 2025. The Top Television series that captured Nigerians’ attention are ‘Wednesday Season 2’, ‘Squid Game’, and ‘Squid Game 2’. Also, three parts of the popular ‘Koleoso’ series made the top ten list. 

In addition, Nigerians showed strong interest in soul-lifting songs, as ‘Oluwatosin (Jesus Is Enough)’ by Tkeyz Ft. Stevehills was the most searched song. ‘Joy Is Coming’ by Fido Davido’s ‘With You’ Ft. Omah Lay, ‘Shallipopi’ by Laho, and ‘My Darling’ by Chella are others in the top five. 

Also Read: Google commits N3bn to advance Nigeria’s national AI strategy.

The trend shows Nigerians’ curiosity about the meaning of words such as ‘Achalugo’, ‘Allegedly’, and ‘Labubu’. They also searched for questions like ‘Who is Charlie Kirk’, ‘What is Labubu’, and ‘Who is Tompolo’. Nigerians also explored diverse recipes in the culinary world, with the ‘Pornstar Martini recipe’ leading the searches for the second year in a row. 

Also, ‘iPhone 17’, ‘Tecno Pop 10’, and ‘Pop 10’ led the most searched devices by Nigerians in 2025.

Global outlook 

The most trending search of the year is Google’s Gemini, reflecting how the world is familiarising with the AI chatbot for daily operations. Other top trending searches are ‘England vs India’, ‘Club World Cup’, and ‘Charlie Kirk’. Across the globe, ‘US Government Shutdown’, ‘New Pope Chosen’ and ‘Charlie Kirk assassination’ were among the top trending news searches. 

“2025 was the year an American became pope, KPop Demon Hunters topped the charts, and new AI breakthroughs captured people’s imaginations. These moments and many others inspired people around the world to follow their curiosity in new ways,” Simon said. 

In the movie world, ‘Anora’ was the top trending movie of the year, while “DtMf” by Bad Bunny was the top trending song globally. Likewise, on Google Maps, people explored new experiences such as Portugal’s Livraria Lello, Porto District and Japan’s Animate Ikebukuro main store, in Tokyo.