Swedish dj Avicii, who died in April, was the most popular search term on Google.nl this year, followed by singer Glennis Grace, who took part in the America’s Got Talent tv show, and troubled reality soap star Barbie.

Actress turned British duchess Meghan Markle also made the top 10, as did Jos Brech, who is accused of murdering an 11-year-old boy 20 years ago.

Top of the search engine’s questions was ‘what is dividend tax?’, followed by ‘what is the dragnet law?’ – the nickname for new legislation giving the security services much greater powers to tap phones and the internet.

The football World Cup was the top event, followed by the Tour de France cycle race and the Pinkpop concert.

Surprisingly, Amsterdam football club Ajax did not make the top five most searched football clubs. PSV topped that list followed by FC Twente and Liverpool.