From politics to pop culture: Nicușor Dan, Ion Iliescu, and Labubu shape Romania’s Google search trends in 2025

Google has released its annual report on Romania’s most popular search trends, showing how politics and pop culture shaped online behaviour in 2025. Queries about Nicușor Dan, Ion Iliescu, and the viral toy Labubu stood out among the fastest-rising searches of the year, alongside major entertainment moments and high-profile public events.

The spring presidential election was one of the defining drivers of online interest. President-elect Nicușor Dan topped the overall trending list, while the death of former president Ion Iliescu generated one of the sharpest spikes in search activity. George Simion, Dan’s opponent in the election’s final round, also ranked prominently, and searches related to voter turnout reflected sustained public engagement with the electoral process.

The deaths of other global public figures, including former Pope Francis and US media personality Charlie Kirk, further contributed to peaks in Romanian search traffic, making it to the local top 10.

Entertainment and consumer trends played a major role as well. The reality show Insula Iubirii (Love Island), the FCSB–PAOK match, and the launch of the iPhone 17 all appeared among the year’s most prominent searches.

Labubu, the plush toy with a global cult following, became one of the most unexpected breakout terms of 2025. Kendama toys also recorded a significant resurgence in interest, though they fell outside the top 10.

Film searches were led by Nosferatu, followed by Anora, while Cravata Galbenă (The Yellow Tie) was the only Romanian movie to place in the top tier. Among series, Squid Game again captured the most attention, ahead of Adolescence, Ginny and Georgia, and Wednesday Season 2.

Holiday-related searches saw strong interest in travel, with the Christmas markets in Vienna and Budapest outpacing domestic favourites such as Bucharest and Craiova. In the recipes category, traditional Easter dishes, such as drob de miel, roasted lamb and pască, continued to dominate Romanian searches, but the Dubai chocolate also made it to the top.

The questions Romanians asked in 2025 reflected both major news developments and everyday concerns. Popular queries ranged from “How is the Pope chosen?” and “How did the diaspora vote?” to “How does Labubu look?”