North Korea's Kim 3rd most searched politician online in 2021: data

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects Samjiyon County, in this photo released on Oct. 30, 2018, by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. Kim is the third most searched politician by internet users worldwide this year, data showed Tuesday. Reuters-Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is the third most searched politician by internet users worldwide this year, data showed Tuesday.

Online searches for Kim totaled a monthly average of 1.9 million, behind U.S. President Joe Biden, who topped the list with 7 million searches, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with 2 million, according to German data analytics firm Statista.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel ranked fourth with 1.4 million searches.

The most searched keyword related to the North Korean leader this year was "weight loss," separate analysis by Google Trends found.

In June, the 37-year-old Kim appeared at a politburo session appearing to have lost a significant amount of weight, raising speculation about his health and sparking keen public interest.

South Korea's state intelligence agency told lawmakers in October that Kim has lost around 20 kilograms from a weight of about 140kg but appears to have no major health problem. (Yonhap)