As 2012 nears its end, Google shares its Year-End Zeitgeist by revisiting the year's top searches around the world. Zeitgeist is a German word which means "the spirit of the times".

By Jerry Chifamba, as published by our top partner allAfrica

And in Ghana, the spirit included that of Whitney Houston – American singer, producer, model and actress - who passed away in February this year. Houston was the most searched person in Ghana, where she clearly had millions of mourning fans. And no wonder, Guinness World Records has cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time.

The most-searched term for the country in 2012 was "Loving you", which takes you straight to a website all about "beauty news, style news, celebrity fashion, hairstyle photos, love advice and love poems". Romance was clearly big. Facebook followed at number 2.

English football is also widely supported in Africa – soccer fans even go to the extent of having a relationship with the European soccer club they support. This is probably why Manchester United striker [Robin] van Persie was the most searched football star in Ghana in 2012, followed by Fabrice Muamba who held the world's attention when he suffered a heart attack during a Bolton vs Tottenham Hotspurs match.

Ghanaians showed their more serious side in the top "What is..." search term – topping the list is "What is matter?", and the Google answer? "Physical substance in general, as distinct from mind and spirit; (in physics) that which occupies space..." Deep.

Original article published as 'Ghana: Fashion, Football and Physics Top Googles Searches for 2012' here.