On a city based ranking, Indian cities topped the list for the word 'sex' as a query share.
Among the top 10 ranked countries, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal were from South Asia. Papua New Guinea (ranked third) Ethiopia, Vietnam, Somalia and Cambodia made up the rest of the top 10.
English is widely spoken in the South Asia as a second language, which could be one clue to the prominence of the region in search trend. A search in Google trends for a Spanish equivalent word for sex turns up a host of South American countries.
India is showing signs of overtaking Sri Lanka, running neck and neck during the past 90 days and being on top for the past 30 days.
Sri Lanka has apparently held the top position since 2011. According to Google trends, Vietnam has topped the list in 2009 and 2010, Eritrea in 2007 and 2008, Yemen in 2005 and 2006.
The Google trends could open up possibilities for researchers to find out whether it is a passing phase related to an expansion in internet penetration bringing in curious first time users or existing social strictures that may be driving people to the internet in search of sex.
