The 2025 World Press Photo Awards have unveiled powerful winning images that showcase the very best in global photojournalism and documentary storytelling. Now in its 68th year, the contest continues to spotlight urgent stories and raw human experiences from around the world. Divided into six geographic regions—Africa, Asia-Pacific and Oceania, Europe, North and Central America, South America, and West, Central, and South Asia—the competition honors work across Single, Story, and Long-Term Project categories.
This year’s themes reflect a world in flux, covering critical issues such as conflict, migration, gender identity, political unrest, and climate change. The selected photographs, chosen from over 60,000 submissions, reveal deeply personal moments and sweeping societal shifts, often captured by photographers native to the regions they document.
These winning stories will travel to over 60 locations globally as part of the annual World Press Photo exhibition, beginning in Amsterdam on April 18. Upholding journalistic integrity, the contest strictly prohibits AI-generated content and applies rigorous fact-checking and digital verification to ensure authenticity, reinforcing the importance of truth in visual storytelling.
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#1. Africa – Singles: "Mother Moves, House Approves" by Temiloluwa Johnson
"Participants at “Heavenly Bodies,” an underground drag ballroom event during Lagos Pride, celebrate the “mother of the year” winner. Lagos, Nigeria."
#2. Africa – Stories: "Kenya’s Youth Uprising" by Luis Tato, Agence France-Presse
"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."
#3. Africa – Long-Term Project: "Women’s Bodies as Battlefields" by Cinzia Canneri, Association Camille Lepage
"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."
#4. West, Central, and South Asia – Singles: "Drone Attacks in Beirut" by Murat Şengül, Anadolu Agency
"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."
#5. West, Central, and South Asia – Stories: "Gaza Under Israeli Attack" by Ali Jadallah, Anadolu Agency
"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."
#6. West, Central, and South Asia – Long-Term Project: "Bullets Have No Borders" by Ebrahim Alipoor
"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."
#7. Asia-Pacific and Oceania – Singles: "The Impact of Nickel Mining on Halmahera Island" by Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Baskoro for China Global South Project
"Workers ride towards a nickel smelting and processing plant, amid heavy rains that continued for two days, causing flooding. Weda, Halmahera, Indonesia."
#8. Asia-Pacific and Oceania – Stories: "Four Storms, 12 Days" by Noel Celis for Associated Press
"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."
#9. Asia-Pacific and Oceania – Long-Term Project: "Te Urewera – The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People" by Tatsiana Chypsanava, Pulitzer Center, New Zealand Geographic
"John Rangikapua Teepa (63) gathers pikopiko, edible fern fronds, near his home. Pikopiko are considered a delicacy among Tūhoe elders. Ruatoki, New Zealand."
#10. South America – Singles: "Aircraft on Flooded Tarmac" by Anselmo Cunha, Agence France-Presse
"A stranded Boeing 727-200 surrounded by floodwaters at Salgado Filho International Airport. Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil."
#11. South America – Stories: "Droughts in the Amazon" by Musuk Nolte, Panos Pictures, Bertha Foundation
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.
#12. South America – Long-Term Project: "Paths of Desperate Hope" by Federico Ríos
"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."
#13. North and Central America – Singles: "Night Crossing" by John Moore, Getty Images
"Chinese migrants warm themselves during a cold rain after crossing the US–Mexico border. Campo, California."
#14. North and Central America – Stories: "A Town Derailed" by Rebecca Kiger, Center for Contemporary Documentation, TIME
"The site of the East Palestine train derailment, approximately three months after the disaster. East Palestine, Ohio, United States."
#15. North and Central America – Long-Term Project: "Life and Death in a Country Without Constitutional Rights" by Carlos Barrera, El Faro, NPR
"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."
#16. Europe – Singles: "Underground Field Hospital" by Nanna Heitmann, Magnum Photos, for The New York Times
"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."
#17. Europe – Stories: "MARIA" by Maria Abranches
"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."
#18. Europe – Long-Term Project: "It Smells of Smoke at Home" by Aliona Kardash, DOCKS Collective, for Stern Magazine
"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."
