From ITNewsAfrica.

At the end of each year Google announces its annual Zeitgeist — a look at 2015 through the collective eyes of the world on the web.

“Zeitgeist” means “the spirit of the times.”

Google celebrates this spirit by revisiting the year’s top searches, offering a unique  perspective on the year’s major events and hottest trends.

This year’s overall trending searches from South Africa show loadshedding, xenophobia, sport, and celebrities topping the search trends list.

Murdered musician Flabba, actor Simba Mhere (who died in a car accident) and musician and producer Cassper Nyovest (who is trying to fill the MTN Dome) made the top of the Trending South African list.

Loadshedding and xenophobia topped the Trending Current Affairs search list, showing just how much of an impact both made this year, followed by “demonic game” Charlie Charlie, the French weekly publication Charlie Hebdo targeted by a terror attack; and hacked U.S. dating site Ashley Madison. Some of these demonstrate that while South Africa may be at the southern tip of Africa, South Africans definitely have a somewhat global turn of mind.

The late Public Service and Administration Minister Collins Chabane featured in the Trending South African, Trending Current Affairs and Trending Political Figures lists, an indication of the nation’s depth of feeling at the loss of Minister Chabane in a car accident in March. Also hitting the political figures trends list were disgraced former national police commissioner Jackie Selebi and DA leader Mmusi Maimane.

Check out more lists at ITNewsAfrica.