Google Insights for Search’s Regional Interest feature plots the relative global search popularity on a map. Included is a snapshot of 3 current tech themes.

Apps.

Search volume index for "apps," Jun 2011. {Google}

Google searches for “apps” have really skyrocketed since 2009. In Africa, the highest search volume indexes are recorded in South Africa, Ghana, Botswana, Nigeria, and Kenya. In general, East Africa ranks very highly compared with the continent (and most of Europe and South America).

No measurable search volume occurred in Africa until Feb-Jun 2006. Then, for two years, South Africa was the only nation producing volume. Egyptians began searching in earnest around mid-2008. Morocco and Tunisia appear in mid-2009. Suddenly, Nigeria and Kenya appear in mid-2010.

Mobile.

Search volume index for "mobile," Jun 2011. {Google}

Nigeria ranks 6th in the world on relative Google searches for “mobile”. Impressive also is Congo, ranking just outside the top 10. Congo, Ethiopia, and Eritrea are not far behind. The usual suspects, however (Niger, Chad, CAR, DRC) are not ranked due to a lack of relative search volume for the term.

The change-over-time map shows that searches for the team “mobile” have remained popular in Nigeria and Kenya for over 7 years.

Facebook.

Search volume index for "facebook," Jun 2011. {Google}

Tunisia is actually the nation with the highest share of Google searches containing “facebook” and its index is set as 100. North Africa (sans Libya) tends to search for the term, as do South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Interestingly, nations that do not produce volume for terms like “apps” and “mobile” appear for this term. They include: Lesotho, Gabon, Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.

The first time an African nation had a substantial number of “facebook” searchers was in mid-2007. Most appear as of early 2009.

Coming soon: visuals showing the relative African popularity for themes such as “farming”, “health”, “education”, and “ICT”. Amazing how the term “ICT” is primarily used within the U.K. and Africa.