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What Are Ukraine and the World Googling the Most in 2024?
Finding out people’s search habits gives us a rare glimpse into the everyday realities of their lives. Google’s Year in Search offers this lens into the hopes, concerns, and curiosities of nations. For Ukraine, these searches tell a story starkly different from most—shaped by resilience under attack, all due to Russia’s ongoing invasion.
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![Vlada_Toporkova]( "Vlada Toporkova")
Take the top searches in the US, Canada, or France, for example. You’ll find search phrases like the “US elections” or “Euro 2024” dominating the lists. Ukrainians, too, paid close attention to global events, especially the elections in one of their strongest allies. Yet their most-searched term was heartbreakingly specific to their lived reality: “Blackout schedules.”
With Russia relentlessly targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, millions faced daily power outages of 4–6 hours, scrambling to prepare for long hours in darkness and cold. It also shaped Ukrainians’ main searches for purchases in 2024: eco flows, charging stations, and inverters were at the top. Still, curiosity for trendy tech hadn’t disappeared altogether—iPhone 16 managed to claim a spot on the list.
In the realm of personalities, global figures like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris were indeed popular searches in Ukraine, much like in the US, UK, or Germany. But Ukrainians' focus turned first to those directly responsible for their safety and future. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi emerged as one of the year’s top-searched individuals, even landing in third place overall.
Even in entertainment, the Ukrainian perspective shone through. While movies like Dune 2, Inside Out 2, and even Saltburn (still!) appeared on the list much like they did worldwide, Ukraine’s top search was deeply personal. The Oscar-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, which captures the harrowing first weeks of Russia’s siege of Mariupol in 2022 during the full-scale invasion, is the most-searched film in Ukraine.
And what about the top-searched questions? Well, it wasn’t “Tanghulu recipes,” “Why is Drake trending?” or “How to watch Fury vs. Usyk?” (however, the last one has a chance to get into top-20 yet). Ukrainians had more concerning queries, like “What is the blackout schedule?” “What is EW?” (electronic warfare), and “What is a KAB?” (a Russian glide bomb).
In the end, Ukraine’s search trends reveal a nation shaped by crisis, determined to survive and understand its enemy. These digital footprints reflect not just what Ukrainians are curious about but what keeps them going. And, perhaps, they remind us that even in the darkest times, a nation finds ways to adapt, endure, and hope for the light—even with the ever-present power outages.
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