2025 World Press Photo Contest winners
The 68th annual World Press Photo Contest winners have been announced, highlighting outstanding examples of documentary photography and photojournalism worldwide. The contest is divided into six regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific and Oceania, Europe, North and Central America, South America, and West, Central, and South Asia. Each region features Single, Story and Long-Term Project categories, with the latter two including multiple images per winning photographer.
The contest grew this year, with three winners instead of only one selected across the Single and Story categories per region. There is still only one Long-Term Project winner per region. In total, 42 photographers were selected as winners. Of those winners, 30 were local to where they photographed their subjects.
This year's themes included politics, migration, conflict, gender and the climate crisis. Photographers captured some of the world's current conflicts, the impact of climate disasters, secret Pride celebrations, portraits of those impacted by war and much more. The awarded stories will be part of World Press Photo's annual traveling exhibition, which will be held in over 60 locations around the world, beginning with Amsterdam at De Nieuwe Kerk from April 18 to September 21.
World Press Photo prohibits the use of AI in images, including generative fill and fully generated images. The contest uses a multilayered approach to spot fake and manipulated images, partly including verification of the facts behind each story and examinations by digital analysts.
You can see more of the winning images and projects on the World Press Photo website.
Africa – Singles: Temiloluwa Johnson
Photographer: Temiloluwa Johnson
Image title: Mother Moves, House Approves
Date: June 21, 2024
Image details: Participants at “Heavenly Bodies,” an underground drag ballroom event during Lagos Pride, celebrate the “mother of the year” winner. Lagos, Nigeria.
Members of the LGBTQI+ community in Nigeria face legal prosecution, widespread social discrimination, and physical violence. Held in a secret location, “Heavenly Bodies: Notes on Fola Francis” was the third edition of the Pride celebration in Lagos ballroom, one of the largest drag ballroom experiences in Nigeria. The 2024 series was named after the late Fola Francis, a trans icon, activist, and first openly transgender person to walk the runway during Lagos Fashion Week. Despite all risks, the event was an electrifying experience, providing a vibrant space for celebration of love and free self-expression.
Jury comment: In a country where LGBTQ+ peoples have no legal protection and face up to fourteen years in prison, this image portrays a moment to breathe for the queer community. The striking composition seamlessly ties together a busy scene, conveying joy, love, and celebration. Due to the sensitive legal context, this story is often overlooked in the region, but by focusing on body language, gestures, and shapes, the photographer captures the essence of the moment while protecting the identities of those involved.
Africa – Stories: Luis Tato
Photographer: Luis Tato, Agence France-Presse
Series title: Kenya’s Youth Uprising
Date: June 25, 2024
Image details: Two protestors helping injured people are hit with tear gas outside the Kenyan Parliament during a national strike against the Finance Bill 2024. Nairobi, Kenya.
In 2024, the National Treasury of Kenya proposed additional taxes on everyday items to generate additional income and alleviate Kenya’s high debt burden. Protests against the bill erupted, led by young Kenyans who organized actions over social media. On 25 June, protestors stormed Parliament and clashed with police; many were killed or abducted and hundreds were injured. Though President William Ruto withdrew the bill, protests persist into 2025, fueled by anger over economic hardship, corruption, police brutality, and distrust of the political class. All across Kenya, young people have emerged as a driving force, demanding accountability and systemic reforms.
Jury comment: This project offers strong photojournalistic coverage of a key news event from the year, with each shot and the overall edit effectively capturing the unfolding events while also addressing larger issues of generational divides across Kenya, particularly the disillusionment between older and younger generations. The photographer's ability to capture the story from both sides, while being so close to the friction—moments of explosion when fatalities occurred—adds significant depth. The high-level photography aligns perfectly with what the jury was looking for.
Africa – Long-Term Project: Cinzia Canneri
Photographer: Cinzia Canneri, Association Camille Lepage
Project title: Women’s Bodies as Battlefields
Date: June 4, 2021
Image details: Despite experiencing trauma, the girls find strength and support in their
shared experiences, fostering resilience, self-confidence, and collective strength. Um Rakuba Refugee camp, Gedaref, Sudan.
Project details: In 2017, Cinzia Canneri began documenting the experiences of Eritrean women fleeing Eritrea’s repressive government. Since the outbreak of war in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia in 2020, her scope has expanded to include the stories of Tigrayan women fleeing from armed invasion. Both groups have been the targets of systematic sexual violence – rape, shooting, torture – that, due to social stigma, limited health facilities, and journalistic access, remains insufficiently reported by news media. By amplifying the stories and voices of the survivors, this project reimagines the idea of resilience as a complex collaborative challenge against pain, trauma, and loss.
Jury comment: This project amplifies the voices of the women affected by the war in the border region of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sudan, with remarkable depth and care. The jury was impressed by the photographer's commitment to the story and the trust she fostered with the Tigrinya women she photographed, shedding light on their underreported experiences. Despite working within a challenging media landscape marked by misinformation and difficulty in gaining access, the work offers a rare, intimate perspective, balancing the weight of the subject matter with moments of beauty and tenderness. Furthermore, the photographer’s self-reflective approach—evident in the strong captions, thoughtful sequencing, and acknowledgment of her positionality as an Italian woman in a region shaped by Italy’s colonial history—adds further depth to this powerful work, balancing the weight of the subject matter with moments of beauty and tenderness.
West, Central, and South Asia – Singles: Murat Şengül
Photographer: Murat Şengül, Anadolu Agency
Image title: Drone Attacks in Beirut
Image date: September 29, 2024
Image details: People glance anxiously upwards during an Israeli drone strike, as they take refuge away from buildings in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood. Jets and drones often fly at low altitudes, causing fear and distress. Lebanon.
Cross-border attacks between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah – ongoing since the outbreak of the war in Gaza – escalated sharply in September 2024. Israel announced a new goal to eliminate the militant group, first launching airstrikes into southern Lebanon, and later a ground offensive. Beirut, initially a refuge for those fleeing airstrikes in southern Lebanon, itself came under fire as attacks spread northwards. From 27 September, Israel targeted buildings, including apartment blocks in Dahiyeh, saying that Hezbollah was headquartered in the densely populated suburb.
Jury comment: This photo captures a paradoxical moment of people seeking safety while sheltering outdoors, highlighting the impact of drones and technological warfare. It brings attention to the psychological trauma endured by those living under constant threat, where safety is elusive, and terror can strike from the sky at any moment. It powerfully conveys the ongoing reality of living in fear.
West, Central, and South Asia – Stories: Ali Jadallah
Photographer: Ali Jadallah, Anadolu Agency
Series title: Gaza Under Israeli Attack
Date: August 9, 2024
Image details: Relatives of people killed in an Israeli attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp
mourn as the bodies are brought to al-Aqsa Hospital. Deir al-Balah, Gaza.
Series details: Israel continued its war on Gaza throughout 2024, leaving much of it in ruins. The UN reports more than 60% of homes have been destroyed and 95% of hospitals are non-functional. Nearly two million people have been displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicines, due to Israeli restrictions.
With international journalists effectively barred from Gaza, local photographers risked their lives to document the war. The photographer, who has also lost family members, says: “Every time I photograph a destroyed house, I remember mine. Every time the wounded and martyred are pulled from the rubble, I remember my father and siblings.”
Jury comment: The jury felt this work offers a critical representation of the industrial scale of violence experienced daily by Gazans. Despite the story's graphic imagery, the project serves as a powerful record of the immense human cost and destruction endured by civilians. Additionally, it underscores the vital role of Gazan photographers in bearing witness to these ongoing atrocities, ensuring that the world does not look away especially as international journalists are barred entry.
West, Central, and South Asia – Long-Term Project: Ebrahim Alipoor
Photographer: Ebrahim Alipoor
Project title: Bullets Have No Borders
Date: June 1, 2019
Image details: A kolbar follows an arduous mountain path. Kolbars’ packs can weigh around 50 kg, and crossings take an average of eight to 12 hours. Kurdistan, Iran.
Project details: Kolbars (border couriers) carry goods, such as household appliances, mobile phones, and clothes, on their backs through treacherous terrain from Iraq and Turkey into Iranian Kurdistan. The Iranian government bans import of many such goods to protect local production and save foreign currency in the face of Western sanctions. Decades-long marginalization of Kurds means widespread unemployment in the region, driving many to kolbari. In addition, many kolbars see the activity as legitimate, as they feel ties with fellow Kurds across nation-state borders they do not acknowledge. However, kolbars risk being shot by security forces and border patrols.
Jury comment: The jury felt that this project—shot in Western Iran—provides a rare and deeply nuanced perspective on the complex impacts of economic sanctions, offering a lens rarely seen in mainstream coverage. The photographer's long-term commitment and willingness to take significant personal risks to tell this story is evident in every frame. Each image stands on its own while also contributing to a broader, compelling narrative, inviting viewers to slow down, engage with each caption, and absorb the layered realities of life under sanctions.
Asia-Pacific and Oceania – Singles: Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Baskoro
Photographer: Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Baskoro for China Global South Project
Image title: The Impact of Nickel Mining on Halmahera Island
Date: August 12, 2024
Image details: Workers ride towards a nickel smelting and processing plant, amid heavy rains that continued for two days, causing flooding. Weda, Halmahera, Indonesia.
Nickel mining in Indonesia has ramped up in the past decade, and Weda Bay now accounts for 17% of global production of a metal essential for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy storage. Research indicates that deforestation from mining leads to longer and more frequent flooding. Air pollution from nickel smelting and coal-based energy production has also surged, with one local health center recording a 25-fold increase in respiratory diseases between 2020 and 2023.
Jury comment: This image captures the impact of foreign industry and mining operations on the local community, pulling together complex issues like the exploitation of raw materials, pollution of the environment, and the influence of corporate power, into a single frame. The strong foreground emphasizes the intertwined social and environmental cycle and trap of industrialization, whereby local communities become dependent on industrial jobs that are simultaneously leading to the ruination of the environment. Direct eye contact from the workers in the frame further draws the viewer into the story, underscoring the human toll of these issues.
Asia-Pacific and Oceania – Stories: Noel Celis
Photographer: Noel Celis for Associated Press
Series title: Four Storms, 12 Days
Date: October 25, 2024
Image details: A boy wades through a flooded street with his pet dogs in a styrofoam
container, after Tropical Storm Trami. Naga City, Camarines Sur, northern Philippines.
Series details: Four consecutive cyclones, three of which developed into typhoons, hit the Philippines in a matter of days in late October and early November 2024. Tropical Storm Trami, followed by Typhoons Yinxing, Toraji, and Usagi left a trail of destruction, mostly in the northern Luzon region.
A Philippine Climate Change Assessment Cycle report points to a 210% increase in typhoons hitting the Philippines since 2012, and other studies indicate that the climate crisis is intensifying extreme rainfall and flooding worldwide.
Jury comment: This selection highlights the increasing frequency of natural disasters in Southeast Asia, illustrating how people are becoming increasingly accustomed to such events. The classic edit includes photographs that juxtapose intimate moments with the broader scale of these storms, capturing both their personal impact and the wider consequences at the local and national scale. The combination of day- and night-time shots emphasize the relentless nature of these extreme weather events, maintaining a consistent aesthetic throughout.
Asia-Pacific and Oceania – Long-Term Project: Tatsiana Chypsanava
Photographer: Tatsiana Chypsanava, Pulitzer Center, New Zealand Geographic
Project title: Te Urewera – The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People
Date: November 21, 2016
Image details: John Rangikapua Teepa (63) gathers pikopiko, edible fern fronds, near his home. Pikopiko are considered a delicacy among Tūhoe elders. Ruatoki, New Zealand.
Project details: The Ngāi Tūhoe people of the Te Urewera region in New Zealand have maintained a staunch independence. Tūhoe have never lost their connection to their language and cultural identity, and in a groundbreaking 2014 agreement, the New Zealand government opened the way to Tūhoe managing their ancestral lands according to their cultural values.
Recent changes by New Zealand’s right-wing government are seen as reversals of such hard-fought progressive policies regarding indigenous peoples. Yet the Tataiwhetu Trust farm in Te Urewera offers a revitalizing model for a younger generation.
Jury comment: The jury felt this project stood out as a powerful, detailed look at the Ngāi Tūhoe people's fight for the return of their ancestral lands and indigenous rights. It captures the ongoing governance struggles between Te Urewera's ways of being and Western knowledge, along with tensions from far-right political movements. Through a variety of thoughtful frames, the work provides a compelling visual dialogue about relationships to land and cultural preservation, shedding light on an often underrepresented community.
South America – Singles: Anselmo Cunha
Photographer: Anselmo Cunha, Agence France-Presse
Image title: Aircraft on Flooded Tarmac
Date: May 20, 2024
Image details: A stranded Boeing 727-200 surrounded by floodwaters at Salgado Filho International Airport. Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Between April and June 2024, record-breaking rainfall in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, led to the worst flood in the area’s history. More than half a million people were displaced and more than 183 died in the floods. According to scientists, climate change – driven primarily by the burning of fossil fuels, including those used in passenger air travel – almost certainly intensified the floods. In the larger context of the global climate crisis, this image of a plane suspended between sky and water becomes a foreboding symbol.
Jury comment: The jury was struck by the eerie atmosphere of this image, which contributes to a powerful visual narrative of Brazil’s surreal climate extremes— shifting between record droughts and devastating floods. The frame of the abandoned aircraft captures the unsettling impact of flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, provoking reflection about disasters in modern society and the fragility of man-made systems.
South America – Stories: Musuk Nolte
Photographer: Musuk Nolte, Panos Pictures, Bertha Foundation
Series title: Droughts in the Amazon
Date: October 5, 2024
Image details: A young man brings food to his mother who lives in the village of Manacapuru. The village was once accessible by boat, but because of the drought, he must walk 2 kilometers along the dry riverbed of the Solimões River to reach her. Amazonas, Brazil.
Series details: The Amazon River is experiencing record low-water levels due to severe drought intensified by climate change. This ecological crisis threatens biodiversity, disrupts ecosystems, and impacts local communities reliant on rivers for survival. As droughts intensify, many settlers face the difficult choice of abandoning their land and livelihoods for urban areas, changing the social fabric of this region permanently. This project makes the effects of climate change, which can so often be abstract or difficult to represent, appear as a tangible and concrete reality shaping the futures of vulnerable communities closely connected with the natural world.
Jury comment: The jury felt this project was critical to highlight, as it documents unprecedented drought in the Amazon and its profound impact on communities connected to natural cycles. This work powerfully illustrates the consequences of climate change— landscapes transformed, livelihoods disrupted, and the urgent need for adaptation. The striking contrast of dry, desert-like scenes in the world's largest rainforest makes the absence of water hauntingly visible. The photographer captures the scale of environmental change while centering the human experience, offering a compelling visual narrative of a rapidly shifting reality.
South America – Long-Term Project: Federico Ríos
Photographer: Federico Ríos
Project title: Paths of Desperate Hope
Date: August 2, 2023
Image details: Thousands of migrants wade into the Rio Muerto (“Death River”) at the Darién Gap, where several have drowned in its treacherous waters. They assist one another to prevent drowning in the swift currents. Rio Muerto, Colombia.
Project details: This project documents the perilous journeys of migrants traversing the Darién Gap, a 100-kilometer long stretch of dense jungle connecting Colombia and Panama. Over a million people have braved this route since 2021. They hail from diverse nations – Afghans escaping Taliban rule, Venezuelans seeking refuge from economic collapse, Chinese fleeing authoritarianism, and many others – driven by the pursuit of a better life. Their stories are full of danger: treacherous rivers, unforgiving terrain, and the constant threat of violence and exploitation. Many never make it. Those who succeed find themselves only at the beginning of a different and difficult journey through Central America and Mexico to the United States.
Jury comments: The jury felt this project was exceptionally well done, offering a sincere and touching portrayal of migration through the Darien Gap, one of the most important yet dangerous migration routes in the Americas. The photographer follows families on this journey, giving faces to migrants in search of better lives, humanizing their stories. The selection of images captures both the personal and environmental challenges and hardships— dangerous terrain and threats from wildlife as well as human threats from organized crime— all while showing the hope and desperation that drive these families forward. Each image reflects the diverse range of people on this route and the harsh reality of their journey, making this a powerful and vital story of global migration.
North and Central America – Singles: John Moore
Photographer: John Moore, Getty Images
Image title: Night Crossing
Date: March 7, 2024
Image details: Chinese migrants warm themselves during a cold rain after crossing the US–Mexico border. Campo, California.
Unauthorized immigration from China to the US has increased dramatically in recent years due to a host of factors, including China’s struggling economy and financial losses after strict zero-COVID policies. Moreover, people are being influenced by video tutorials on how to get across the border, shown on Chinese social media platforms. This image, both otherworldly and intimate, depicts the complex realities of migration at the border, which is often flattened and politicized in public discourse in the United States.
Jury comment: This image powerfully connects distant regions through a complex story of migration— portraying migrants from Asia navigating South and Central America on their journey to North America. The frame's otherworldly quality, paired with the tenderness between parent and child, invites reflection and evokes questions about the uncertainty that lies ahead. In a single picture, the photographer conveys both immense vulnerability and resilience.
North and Central America – Stories:
Rebecca Kiger
Photographer: Rebecca Kiger, Center for Contemporary Documentation, TIME
Series title: A Town Derailed
Date: May 9, 2023
Image details: The site of the East Palestine train derailment, approximately three months after the disaster. East Palestine, Ohio, United States.
Series details: On 3 February 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, a small town of 4,700 residents. The train contained hazardous materials, including known carcinogens. It was one of the most toxic train spills in the history of the United States, which raised concerns about the environmental and public health impacts of the derailment. This project chronicles the aftermath of the disaster and its continuing impact on the local community after national media attention waned. Embedded with residents as they sought corporate accountability and navigated conflicting health information, the photographer captures the nuanced new reality of East Palestine in limbo, highlighting the complex relationships between residents and their environment, health, and governing institutions.
Jury comment: The jury felt that this story effectively tells a story of a town impacted by corporate negligence, putting in focus the persistence of its residents to seek justice. The selection of frames skillfully blends thoughtful, intimate visuals. The photographer's immersive reporting, captures both the human cost and systemic issues with striking sensitivity.
North and Central America – Long-Term Project: Carlos Barrera
Photographer: Carlos Barrera, El Faro, NPR
Project title: Life and Death in a Country Without Constitutional Rights
Date: September 22, 2022
Image details: A group of arrested people awaits entrance to Ilopango jail. Many will spend over a year behind bars without due process. Trials are conducted in groups rather than on a case-by-case basis. Ilopango, San Salvador, El Salvador.
Project details: In 2022, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and its legislative assembly passed a law declaring a “state of emergency” that limited the rights of El Salvadorans to freedom of assembly, privacy of communication, and due process under the law. This temporary measure, designed to curb gang violence responsible for El Savador’s high murder rate, has been renewed 35 times as of March 2025, turning El Salvador into a nation where mass incarceration is the norm. Prisons in El Salvador have become severely overcrowded and reports of inhumane treatment, poor medical care, violence, and murder are common. This project focuses on the stories of individuals and affected families to show the private struggles behind public policy.
Jury comment: The jury felt that this project powerfully captures the personal toll of state violence, offering an intimate view into the lives of individuals who have been unfairly arrested and brutalized. The photographer’s creative approach to protecting identities while maintaining visual impact heightens the sense of descending darkness and terror. The story resonates beyond its borders, reflecting the global implications of migration politics as many Salvadorians face the prospect of being deported back to the violence they once fled. The photographer’s work, undertaken at enormous personal risk, brings viewers closer to the human cost of authoritarianism.
Europe – Singles:
Nanna Heitmann
Photographer: Nanna Heitmann, Magnum Photos, for The New York Times
Image title: Underground Field Hospital
Date: January 22, 2024
Image details: A soldier injured near the city of Bakhmut, lies in a field hospital set up in an underground winery. His left leg and arm were later amputated. Donbas, Ukraine.
This soldier was conscripted to fight for the Russian-backed, separatist “republic” of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on 22 February 2022, two days before the full-scale Russian invasion of the country. Later, Russia unilaterally annexed the territory, and the militia that conscripted him was merged into a unit of the Russian army. Russia has occupied vast swathes of eastern Ukraine, and the city of Bakhmut has seen some of the bloodiest battles of the war.
Jury comment: The jury considered the two singles from Europe about the Russian-Ukrainian war in tandem, recognizing them as a powerful pairing that captures different dimensions of the conflict. The first image, of a soldier conscripted to fight for the Russian-backed, separatist “republic” of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, carries complex symbolic weight, raising thought-provoking questions about nationality and political divides. The second image, of a Ukrainian child, Anhelina, at rest, offers a contrasting perspective — quiet, suspended, and distanced from direct violence, yet still profoundly shaped by the war and its psychological scars. Together, these images expose both the physical and psychological toll of the war, with the pairing providing a deeper, more nuanced view of a conflict with far-reaching global ramifications.
Europe – Stories: Maria Abranches
Photographer: Maria Abranches
Series title: MARIA
Date: November 27, 2023
Image details: One of Ana Maria’s uniforms hangs ready for work. Originally called Utima (the Kimbundu word for "heart”), she was given her new name by the family that brought her to Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal.
Series details: Ana Maria Jeremias’ life as a carer and domestic worker in Portugal echoes the experience of countless women around Europe. Trafficked from Angola to Portugal aged nine, under false promises of education, Ana Maria has spent more than four decades working in other people’s homes, making a vital contribution to their daily lives. By focusing on Ana Maria’s story, the photographer aims to encourage reflection on privilege, as well as to honor her life (and that of so many women like her).
Jury comment: The jury found this project touching and profoundly layered. The photographer was able to connect with her subject respectfully, recording different moments of her daily life. Through these intimate frames, the photographer highlights telling details—symbolic reminders of the lingering consequences of Portugal's colonial past. The work sparks reflection about how this history continues to shape social structures today.
Europe – Long-Term Project: Aliona Kardash
Photographer: Aliona Kardash, DOCKS Collective, for Stern Magazine
Project title: It Smells of Smoke at Home
Date: August 5, 2023
Image details: Aliona (left) sits with her younger sister Sanya, a mother of two. Aliona has never talked to Sanya about the war and has no idea of what it must be like to raise a son in wartime Russia. Tomsk, Russia.
Project details: Russia’s de facto ban on critical media and suppression of anti-war protests has created an alternative reality with its own take on what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine instead of a full-scale invasion. In this story, Aliona Kardash, Russian-born, but now resident in Germany, reflects on the loss of home, and on love for people who believe in a different version of reality. Making a return visit to her hometown, Aliona tries to capture how war transforms us, and to sustain the belief that personal bonds are stronger than the forces that tear us apart.
Jury comment: The jury found this long-term project to be a deeply personal insight into the fractures within Russian society since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, revealing complexities often overlooked when viewing Russia as a monolith. The photographer visually conveys her melancholy regarding her connection to her family as they are influenced by state propaganda, grappling with the universal dilemma of how to hold to loved ones subsumed by state control. As conflict increasingly draws journalists into their own stories, this project reflects the nuance of their narratives, capturing a personal experience with global resonance.
