DuckDuckGo search market share region and country 2023

Alternative search engine DuckDuckGo's worldwide market share has steadily increased in the period between July 2019 to March 2023 – the largest surge being in the United States, which surpassed the search engine’s growth in all other regions. Here, an increased uptake began roughly around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, continuing in the months leading up to the US elections and beyond, but later running a bit lower than 2 percent in March 2023.

Ecosia - the more popular alternative in Europe

While Google is still the market leader by a long shot when it comes to search engines in the United States - where DuckDuckGo is also based, consumer trust in big tech has been waning and more are seeking out privacy-based alternatives. In Europe, Ecosia is the more popular option and has seen steady growth particularly in Germany and France. Despite not having privacy as its main selling point, the German-based company invests its profits into tree-planting and reforestation projects.

Americans’ waning trust in the government

The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic caught most governments off-guard, invoking a host of different responses and approaches across the globe. In the United States, overall trust in the government to deal appropriately with the pandemic fell by approximately 20 percent in the period between February 2020 and January 2021. In fact, among the various institutions of authority, Americans had the least trust in the government – even less than that towards the European Union. Conversely, the United Nations commanded the most public trust. As the COVID vaccination rollout continues across the country, young Americans aged 18 to 24 are also the most skeptical when it comes to the idea of vaccination passports for travel, with approximately 41 percent in support of the measure.

Search engine market share of DuckDuckGo from July 2019 to March 2023, by selected regions and countries

Characteristic	United States	Europe	Germany	UK	France
2023-03	1.94%	0.53%	0.93%	0.64%	0.48%
2023-02	1.94%	0.52%	0.9%	0.67%	0.52%
2023-01	2.1%	0.54%	0.83%	0.71%	0.52%
2022-12	2.2%	0.53%	0.74%	0.75%	0.49%
2022-11	2.35%	0.53%	0.95%	0.71%	0.49%
2022-10	2.34%	0.52%	0.9%	0.68%	0.46%
2022-09	2.32%	0.55%	0.97%	0.75%	0.48%
2022-08	2.47%	0.68%	1.11%	0.83%	0.57%
2022-07	2.52%	0.64%	1.12%	0.9%	0.59%
2022-06	2.42%	0.58%	1.02%	0.87%	0.55%
2022-05	2.26%	0.57%	0.99%	0.82%	0.5%
2022-04	2.41%	0.61%	1.12%	0.85%	0.53%
2022-03	2.49%	0.61%	1.05%	0.9%	0.59%
2022-02	2.51%	0.59%	1.05%	0.82%	0.53%
2022-01	2.54%	0.59%	0.97%	0.84%	0.56%
2021-12	2.5%	0.58%	0.88%	0.85%	0.51%
2021-11	2.52%	0.56%	0.99%	0.83%	0.52%
2021-10	2.38%	0.53%	0.92%	0.79%	0.51%
2021-09	2.38%	0.55%	0.96%	0.81%	0.54%
2021-08	2.52%	0.59%	1.05%	0.87%	0.6%
2021-07	2.44%	0.57%	0.9%	0.84%	0.64%
2021-06	2.42%	0.58%	0.97%	0.77%	0.62%
2021-05	2.32%	0.58%	0.99%	0.72%	0.51%
2021-04	2.27%	0.54%	0.93%	0.7%	0.46%
2021-03	2.26%	0.52%	0.9%	0.69%	0.48%
2021-02	2.44%	0.52%	0.88%	0.7%	0.49%
2021-01	2.6%	0.52%	0.82%	0.75%	0.74%
2020-12	2.3%	0.51%	0.72%	0.88%	0.62%
2020-11	2.32%	0.49%	0.8%	0.81%	0.52%
2020-10	1.76%	0.44%	0.74%	0.68%	0.52%
2020-09	1.66%	0.48%	0.81%	0.69%	0.7%
2020-08	1.75%	0.54%	0.77%	0.75%	1.09%
2020-07	1.61%	0.48%	0.69%	0.7%	0.95%
2020-06	1.5%	0.46%	0.65%	0.63%	0.86%
2020-05	1.36%	0.4%	0.69%	0.58%	0.45%
2020-04	1.24%	0.4%	0.69%	0.59%	0.38%
2020-03	1.29%	0.37%	0.59%	0.57%	0.35%
2020-02	1.33%	0.38%	0.58%	0.58%	0.35%
2020-01	1.37%	0.4%	0.6%	0.6%	0.37%
2019-12	1.33%	0.4%	0.54%	0.63%	0.34%
2019-11	1.3%	0.39%	0.55%	0.61%	0.34%
2019-10	1.27%	0.38%	0.53%	0.59%	0.35%
2019-09	1.28%	0.43%	0.61%	0.63%	0.38%
2019-08	1.3%	0.47%	0.63%	0.65%	0.71%
2019-07	1.25%	0.48%	0.67%	0.62%	1.01%