Google search engines across the world
Google.com is the most used website in the world and that’ll come as no surprise to the majority of people reading this article.
However, Google’s localised search engines are a very good indication of how much the internet is used in individual countries around the world. Because of that we’ve compiled a list of the most popular country-specific Google Search sites on the planet.
They’re listed in order of the number of visitors they get, the country they’re in and their position in the Top 500 websites on the globe.
Google.com - USA - (1)
Google.co.in - India - (13)
Google.cn - China - (15)
Google.de - Germany - (17)
Google.co.uk - United Kingdom - (21)
Google.fr - France - (25)
Google.jp - Japan - (29)
Google.br - Brazil - (31)
Google.it - Italy - (35)
Google.es - Spain - (40)
Google.com.mx - Mexico - (50)
Google.ca - Canada - (59)
Google.ru - Russia - (70)
Google.id - Indonesia - (78)
Google.com.au - Australia - (89)
Google.pl - Poland - (99)
Google.nl - Netherlands - (111)
Google.com.ar - Argentina - (129)
Google.com.eg - Egypt - (145)
Google.com.pk - Pakistan - (151)
Google.co.za - South Africa - (152)
Google.be - Belgium - (202)
Google.co.ve - Venezuela - (207)
Google.com.vn - Vietnam - (213)
Google.gr - Greece - (223)
Google.at - Austria - (224)
Google.com.co - Columbia - (230)
Google.se - Sweden - (238)
Google.ro - Romania - (255)
Google.com.my - Malaysia - (262)
Google.ch - Switzerland - (265)
Google.pt - Portugal - (277)
Google.com.pe - Peru - (287)
Google.cl - Chile - (299)
Google.com.ua - Ukraine - (320)
Google.com.tw - Taiwan - (349)
Google.com.ph - Philippines - (353)
Google.com.hu - Hungary - (368)
Google.dk - Denmark - (389)
Google.ie - Republic of Ireland - (410)
Google.fi - Finland - (424)
Google.com.sg - Singapore - (430)
Google.com.bd - Bangladesh - (449)
Google.no - Norway - (496)
Top 500 Domination
A quick look at the list on the left reveals that Google localised search sites dominate the Top 500 websites in the world.
If you break it down a little further you'll find that Google search accounts for 11 of the Top 50 sites in the world and that doesn't include the likes of YouTube and a number of other websites that Google has major interests in.
In the Top 100, Google search sites feature 17 times or in the Top 250, 29 times.
The direct correlation between the position of a national search site and that nations use of the internet is a very interesting one. In most cases Google dominates the country as it's number one website. China's well publicised exception of Baidu.com (the 8th most visited website in the world) pushing Google into No.2 spot should be considered; can Google really afford to pull out of China when it's nearest competitor already holds the 8th global position?
Traffic, specifically search traffic, in China is only going to increase and that means the real possibility of Baidu.com moving up the list of Top overall sites.
Western European countries such as Germany, the UK and France always have strong search presences and Google is by far the most popular search site in those countries. Bing has made in-roads in some cases, especially in the UK, and Yahoo remains a popular choice of many. It has a slightly stronger presence in the UK more than other countries and the recent revamp of it's site appearance seems to have served it relatively well.
Countries with larger populations are clearly evident although we were surprised to note that Brazil had now pushed Italy out of it former position. The Brazilian Google site is now the 8th most used Google search engine the world.
Poland being ahead of the Netherlands was another surprise, though perhaps not as much as Belgium being outside of the Top 200 sites (the 23rd most used Google localised search site).
The Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Finland and Norway are closely grouped in positions 40, 42 and 45 respectively with populations approximately 5 million each - a point that demonstrates they're actually very high users of Google search when you compare that to their other European neighbours such as Belgium with a population equivalent to Denmark and Finland combined.
On a per head basis few countries can compete with the United Kingdom in respect of it's use of the internet overall. A population of only 62 million still sees it have the 21st most used Google search site in comparison to Germany with 25% more citizens and only one place above it in the Google use ranks.
There is certainly a real threat to the Google.com position as being the most used search site - from it's Indian counterpart. As technology continues to drive deeper into India, already the second most used Google search site and the 13th most visited site in the world, there is a population of over 1.1 billion - the vast majority of which have never used the internet. Within 3-5 years that could change. The USA's population of over 300 millions simply won't be able to account for the per head difference in India and Google.com will slip into No.2 (though it should be remembered that a lot of users worldwide utilise the Google.com site and it's traffic isn't just US citizens).
Then we have China. A population of over 1.3 billion that continues to rise rapidly and a surge in the use of the internet - how long before it tops both the Google.com and Google India sites with Baidu.com? Could it be that the future holds a number one website position for Baidu if Google pulls out of China?
What isn't up for question is the fact that Google search sites truly dominate the global search market. In every country they are the starting point online for almost every web users experience - and they'll remain so for the foreseeable future in most countries.
