During my recent trip to Rio de Janeiro, one data immediately caught my attention.
Brazil has 171.32 million internet users, making it the fifth-largest digital population in the world and the largest in Latin America.
With a population of more than 213 million people, Brazil is also over 14 times larger than Belgium. This represents a massive digital market with significant opportunities for brands, content creators, e-commerce businesses and digital marketing professionals.
Brazilian search behaviour also reveals a strong interest in weather-related information. According to Statista, “Clima” was the most searched query on Google in Brazil in 2024.
Other weather-related terms, including “Tempo” and “Previsão do tempo,” also ranked among the country’s most popular searches. In addition, “WhatsApp” and “WhatsApp Web” recorded high relative search volumes, highlighting the central role of the messaging platform in Brazil’s digital ecosystem.
Belgium, on the other hand, is one of Europe’s most connected countries. According to Eurostat, internet access increased from 73% in December 2010 to a record high of 94.68% in December 2025. Although Belgium has a much smaller population, its high connectivity makes it a mature digital market.
Belgian search behaviour also reveals some interesting trends. Between July 2024 and June 2025, “Google” was the most popular search query on Google in Belgium, according to Statista. “Weer”, the Dutch word for “weather,” ranked second.
The contrast becomes even more interesting when we compare browser usage in both countries:
🇧🇷 Brazil
- Google Chrome: 80.8%
- Safari: 6.93%
🇧🇪 Belgium
- Google Chrome: 56.11%
- Safari: 23.63%
Chrome’s overwhelming dominance in Brazil suggests a digital ecosystem that differs significantly from Belgium, where Safari holds a much stronger position. These differences can influence how websites are designed, tested and optimized, particularly regarding user experience, performance and mobile compatibility.
These figures made me even more curious to understand how Search really works in Brazil: how people formulate their queries, what type of content they trust, which platforms influence product and brand discovery, and how Google’s search results differ from what we usually see in Belgium and the rest of Europe.
Brazil’s scale, cultural diversity and unique digital habits make it a fascinating market to explore, and one that international SEO and digital marketing professionals should pay close attention to.
