The results are in! Google has finally announced the words, phrases, people and topics that the people of the Netherlands looked up the most in 2023. From Stemwijzer to Andrew Tate, this is what the Netherlands wanted to know from the internet this year!

Stemwijzer topped the list as the Netherlands' most popular Google search in 2023

Somewhat unsurprisingly, politics was on the minds of many throughout the election. Stemwijzer, a website that helps voters find a political party that best represents their opinions, came out on top as the most searched term on Google in the Netherlands. Other popular topics included the revolutionary generative AI tool ChatGPT, coming in second place, and the Women’s Football World Cup, rounding out the top three. 

As for the rest of the most searched topics, some other highlights and lowlights include the Israel-Gaza conflict, the Giro555 donation platform, the political parties BBB and NSC, and even the Crompouce. Admittedly, a fairly unusual mix of topics in 2023!

Matthew Perry was the most searched celebrity in the Netherlands in 2023

After the sad passing of the Friends legend Matthew Perry in October, the star became the most-searched celebrity in the Netherlands in 2023. Other celebrities who passed away in 2023 were among Google’s most searched people in the Netherlands, including Tina Turner (second) and Sinéad O’Connor (fourth). 

Internet personality Andrew Tate was the third most searched celebrity, while Nigerian singer-songwriter Burna Boy came in fifth. The most-searched celebrities list was rounded out by Jake Paul, Loreen, Jeremy Renner, Raquel Welch and Hannah Waddingham. 

Barbenheimer played out not just in cinemas, but on the internet as well

2023 was also a great year for film fans, following the recovery of the industry after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the return to cinemas. Over the summer, the simultaneous release of the biographical blockbuster Oppenheimer - recreating the journey of theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his creation of the atomic bomb - clashed with the light-hearted and heavily pink-themed Barbie movie, a feminine feel-good film charting Barbie’s adventures in the “real world”. The battle of Barbenheimer played out in cinemas, as fans flocked to visit both but also headed online to debate, critique and review the two very different films. 

In terms of searches, only one film could come out on top: Oppenheimer, but followed directly behind with Barbie. Other films and TV shows the Dutch were loving according to Google were Een Jaar Van Je Leven in third place (a show where 40 participants isolate themselves from the outside world for an entire year, for the chance to win 1 million euros), the Avatar film in fourth place, and the classic TV show Boer Zoekt Vrouw in fifth (Farmer Wants A Wife). 

Image: JHVEPhoto / Shutterstock.com