Year in Search MENA 2024: A Year of Curiosity

What piqued the curiosity of millions across the Middle East and North Africa in 2024? Every year, we dive deep into our data to uncover the year's top trending Google searches. These lists offer a glimpse into what captured the attention of people around the world throughout the year. From major news events and sporting moments to popular personalities and cultural trends, these trending searches reflect the diverse interests and concerns of every region. For the Middle East and North Africa, 2024 was a year of diverse interests and burning questions.

Saudi Arabia

Football remained the undisputed king in Saudi Arabia, with the fierce rivalry between Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr fueling passionate searches. But beyond the roar of the stadiums, the most searched personality in 2024 was the late Prince Badr bin Abdul Mohsen, as Saudi Arabia remembered his life achievements. It's worth noting that a different kind of curiosity emerged. Saudis turned to Google Search to delve deeper into their heritage, posing questions like "What is the total tourism spending in Asir?", "In what year was oil discovered in Saudi Arabia?", and “What are the main pillars for Vision 2030 to achieve a prosperous future for Saudi Arabia?”. This thirst for knowledge reflects a nation eager to understand its past and shape its future.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE showed significant interest in cricket matches, with the Men's T20 World Cup topping the list of most-searched sports events. People in the UAE also used Google Search to follow news of war in Palestine, as well as global health and tech incidents including the CrowdStrike outage, and the Monkeypox disease. The personalities list included diverse figures like Donald Trump, Kate Middleton, and Kamala Harris, reflecting a broad interest in international affairs.

Egypt

In the news category, the participation of the Egyptian National team in the Olympics ranked first, followed by various local, regional and global topics including the war in Palestine and the US elections. Egyptian footballer Mohamed Abdelmonem topped the personalities list, followed by Wesam Abu Ali, highlighting the popularity of football in Egypt. Notably, the movie "Welad Rizk 3" appeared on the list, indicating the continued popularity of this movie series.

Unveiling the Unique Curiosities of the Region:

• Kuwait: The political landscape took center stage in Kuwait, with searches focused on the National Assembly elections, the US elections, and key figures like Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah and Late Saudi Prince Bader bin Abdulmohsen Al Saud.
• Qatar: News events like the "Rafah attack", the "Egyptian currency devaluation", and the "War in Lebanon" gripped the nation, while personalities like Sarfaraz Khan and Donald Trump were also looked up.
• Jordan: A nation of inquisitive minds, Jordanians sought answers to a fascinating array of questions, from the author of the Arabic grammar Book to the number of players on a baseball team and the artist behind the masterpiece "The Starry Night".
• Iraq: The allure of personalities like Dominique Ouattara and Rodri, and the captivating storylines of TV series like "Detective Conan" and "Bayn Al-Sutoor" captured the imaginations of Iraqis.
• Morocco: News events like the severe heat wave, the US elections, and the monkeypox disease were top of mind, while sports stars like Ibrahim Diaz and Lamine Yamal also garnered significant attention.

Ready to Explore the Full Spectrum of MENA's Curiosity?

Delve deeper into the region's search trends and uncover the full list of trending queries for each country on the Google Trends website.