The holy month of Ramadan is upon us, and people all over the world are gearing up to take part in a period of celebration, connection, reflection and prayer.
With millions of Muslims the world over celebrating the holy month, Ramadan has been a dominate search term on Google globally over the past few days.
Search traffic around the term increased ten-fold in the seven days leading up to the official start of Ramadan on Tuesday, when Google's worldwide search data shows it peaked. The most search traffic came from the UAE, followed by Qatar and the Maldives.
Here’s what else people have been searching for this Ramadan:
Ramadan quotes
On the first day of Ramadan, global search traffic for Ramadan mubarak quotes was up by more than 2,200 per cent, as people looked for messages to send to their loved ones and followers to mark the start of the holy month. In the UAE, there was a 1,150 per cent increase in search traffic for the same term.
Ramadan greetings
In a similar vein, there was a mass increase in searches for Ramadan greetings, as people searched for the correct terms and phrases to extend their best wishes to their Muslim friends celebrating the holy month. Around the world, there was a 2,200 per cent increase in search traffic around that term over the past seven days, and a 1,500 per cent increase across the UAE.
Ramadan parking
In the UAE, one of the most-search Ramadan terms over the past seven days has been around free parking. In Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the RTA amends parking charges to allow people to park for free in certain locations at certain times. In Dubai, for example, there will be free parking during iftar times, with some exemptions, while in Abu Dhabi, public parking will be paid between 9am-2pm, and 9pm-2:30am. It will remain free on Fridays. UAE search traffic rose by more than 2,800 per cent.
Ramadan wishes
Much like the first two terms, searches for Ramadan wishes were up by 2,200 per cent in the UAE, and 3,150 per cent around the world. The Maldives, Pakistan and Mauritius had the most search traffic around this term, followed by the UAE and Qatar.
