Google has just released its "Year in Search 2016" report revealing the top search trends around the world in terms.
Three Arab countries were part of this report: Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the the United Arab Emirates.
Here's what was trending in these three countries this past year:
THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The UAE was clearly concerned about Brexit
The most searched event of the year in the UAE was about something outside the country.
When the British people voted to leave the European Union, the British pound fell to its lowest in 30 years during the vote and Arabs around the entire region had a lot of questions.
Here's the UAE's top 5 most googled events of 2016:
1. Brexit
2. Oscars 2016
3. Eid Al Adha 2016
5. Gitex 2016
The UAE also wanted to know what the deal was with Trump
The advent of Trump has caused quite a stir, needless to say. The UAE was no exception.
Here's the UAE's top 5 most googled people in 2016:
1. Donald Trump
2. Pratyusha Banerjee
3. Qandeel Baloch
4. Nizar Qabbani
5. Muhammad Ali
But ultimately, people in the UAE want the scoop on UEFA
It looks like people in the UAE were all about sports this year?
Here's the UAE's comprehensive top 5 googles in 2016:
1. UEFA Euro 2016
2. Pokemon Go
3. Rio Olympics
4. Donald Trump
5. Ramadan
SAUDI ARABIA
A joint military exercise was all the rage in the kingdom
Raad Al Shamal (North Thunder Exericse) was a joint military exercise held in Saudi Arabia. 20 Arab countries took part.
Here's Saudi Arabia's top 5 most googled events in 2016:
1. Raad al Shamal (رعد الشمال)
2. UEFA Euro 2016
3. ICC T20 World Cup 2016
4. Women's National Day (اليوم العالمي للمرأة)
5. Saudi National Day (1437 اليوم الوطني)
Saudi Arabians were clearly in a romantic mood this year
Nizar Qabbani, one of Syria's most famous poets and writers, came in at number one. He's best known for romantic poetry; you could say that he is the Arab Pablo Neruda.
Here's the top 5 searched people in 2016 in Saudi Arabia:
1. Nizar Qabbani
2. Nemr Al Nemr
3. Donald Trump
4. Sheeb Rashid
5. Raghed Diaz
Note: All of the above were searched in Arabic.
But in the end, Saudis had their priorities straight: It was all about getting a job
Here's the top 5 searches in 2016 in Saudi Arabia:
1. Taqat.com (طاقات)
2. Rio Olympics (الألعاب الأولمبية في ريو دي جانيرو)
3. Pokemon Go
4. Barbes Song
5. TV Series: Shabeb El Bomb (شباب البومب)
EGYPT
Egyptian hearts were broken after TV icon Mahmoud Abdel Aziz died
One of Egypt's most iconic television figures Mahmoud Abdel Aziz died in November 2016. Abdel Aziz gained popularity in the country after appearances on-screen in Egypt.
His name soon spread to the entire Arab world following his role in the TV shoe Raafat El-Hagan.
Here's the top 5 searched events in 2016 in Egypt:
1. Mahmoud Abdel Aziz's funeral (جنازة محمود عبد العزيز)
2. Sanafir Island (تيران وصنافير)
3. Ministry of Local Development Competition (مسابقة وزارة التنمية المحلية)
4. Sham El nisseem, the Egyptian national holiday marking the beginning of spring (شم النسيم)
5. Fire in Ataba, Cairo (حريق العتبة)
Egypt and Saudi were on the "same page" when it came to literature
Here's the top 5 searched people in 2016 in Egypt:
1. Nizar Qabbani
2. Ahmad Shaybe
3. Mahmoud Abdel Aziz
4. Amr Diab
5. Mirhan Hussein
Egyptian students were on top of their game ... when it came to Googling
Here's the top 5 searches in 2016 in Egypt:
1. Official High School Examination Grades (نتيجة الثانوية العامة)
2. The value of the dollar (سعر الدولار)
3. TV Series (مسلسل الاسطورة)
4. Rio Olympics (الألعاب الأولمبية في ريو دي جانيرو)
5. Pokemon Go