World Press Photo 2025 Shines a Light on Global Issues
Real Hacker Staff
Protesters chant slogans and push a makeshift barricade as they clash with Kenyan police officers during an anti-government demonstration. Nairobi, Kenya, 2 July 2024. | Luis Tato for Agence France-Press
World Press Photo has announced the winners of its 2025 World Press Photo Contest, showcasing some of the world’s best photojournalism and documentary photography.
Split into six regions — Africa, Asia-Pacific and Oceania, Europe, North and Central America, South America, and West, Central, and South Asia — there are 42 total winners this year. Each region has three categories — Single, Story, and Long-Term Project. Three winners are selected from Single and Story with one winner from Long-Term Project.
World Press Photo prohibits the use of AI images in its contest — both generative fill and fully generated images. The competition says it has “a multilayered approach to spotting fake or manipulated images.” The original files are examined by “two independent digital analysts.”
Asia-Pacific and Oceania
Nicole Motta (left) and her birth father Jang Dae-chang wipe away tears after an emotional reunion, some 40 years after they were separated. Seoul, 31 May 2024. | Jae C. Hong for Associated PressWorkers ride towards a nickel smelting and processing plant, amid heavy rains that continued for two days, causing flooding. Weda, Halmahera, Indonesia, 12 August 2024. | Yudha Baskoro for China Global South ProjectA long-tailed macaque attacks a shop employee, opposite Phra Prang Sam Yot temple. Lopburi, Thailand, 3 February 2024. | Chalinee Thirasupa for ReutersA man wades through a street flooded by heavy rains from Typhoon Toraji. Ilagan City, Isabela, northern Philippines, 12 November 2024. | Noel Celis for the Associated PressMembers of the Special Operations Force (SOF), a PDF unit, dig graves for four resistance fighters who died in an attack on a government military camp. Taung Soon, Kayin State, Myanmar, 26 April 2024. | Ye Aung Thu
Europe
Anhelina (6), who is traumatized and suffers panic attacks after having to flee her village, lies in bed in her new home. Borshchivka, Ukraine, 7 March 2024. | Florian BachmeierA 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, 22 January 2024. | Nanna Heitmann / Magnum Photos for The New York Times
North and Central Europe
Members of the United States Secret Service help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump off stage moments after a bullet from an attempted assassin hit his ear during a campaign rally. Butler, Pennsylvania, United States, 13 July 2024. | Jabin Botsford for The Washington PostLaBrea Letson (8) sells lemonade made with bottled water outside her grandmother’s home near the derailment site. A van passing by tests the air for hazardous chemicals. East Palestine, Ohio, United States, 18 August 2023. | Rebecca Kiger / Center for Contemporary Documentation for TIME
South America
A stranded Boeing 727-200 surrounded by floodwaters at Salgado Filho International Airport. Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 20 May 2024. | Anselmo Cunha / Agence France-PresseVenezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado greets supporters from atop a vehicle during a campaign rally for the opposition presidential candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia. Mérida, Venezuela, 25 June 2024. | Gabriela Oráa for ReutersRubén Guaynora, a local indigenous man, carries Kimberly Rodriguez, a Venezuelan who fainted several times while crossing the Darién Gap. He will help her onto a canoe that will transport her to Bajo Chiquito, where she may receive medical attention. Darién Gap, Panama, 21 September 2024. | Frederico Ríos
Africa
Bodybuilder Tamale Safalu trains in front of his home. Kampala, Uganda, 25 January 2024. Despite losing his leg after a terrible motorcycle accident in 2020, Safalu remained committed to competitive bodybuilding, becoming the first disabled athlete in Uganda to compete against able-bodied athletes. | Marijn FidderThe groom poses for a portrait at his wedding. In Sudan, announcing a wedding with celebratory gunfire is a tradition. Omdurman, Sudan, 12 January 2024. This photo was taken with a mobile phone camera. | Mosab AbushamaProtesters chant slogans and push a makeshift barricade as they clash with Kenyan police officers during an anti-government demonstration. Nairobi, Kenya, 2 July 2024. | Luis Tato for Agence France-PresseA protestor raises a fist in defiance as Kenyan police officers use a water cannon to disperse the gathering. Pink dye in the water is often used by police at protests to mark individuals for identification. Nairobi, Kenya, 20 June 2024. | Luis Tato for Agence France-PresseKenyan police officers and security personnel protect the Kenyan Parliament against protestors attempting to storm the building. Reports that police fired live ammunition at demonstrators led to condemnation by human rights groups and other countries calling for investigations and police reform. Nairobi, Kenya, 25 June 2024. | Luis Tato for Agence France-Presse
West, Central, and South Asia
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, 29 September 2024. | Murat Şengül for Anadolu AgencyResidents return to their homes in Khan Younis after an Israeli withdrawal on 7 April. In July and August, Israel would launch two more ground incursions into the southern city. Gaza, 9 April 2024. | Ali Jadallah for Anadolu AgencyPeople watch as smoke and flames rise over a building, following Israeli attacks on Deir al-Balah. Israel bombarded the central Gazan city multiple times throughout the year. Gaza, 6 June 2024. | Ali Jadallah for Anadolu AgencyPeople vandalize a statue of former Bangladesh president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had resigned following weeks of unrest. Dhaka, Bangladesh, 5 August 2024. | Suvra Kanti Das for The Daily Prothom Alo
The World Press Photo of the Year will be announced on April 17 along with two runners up. All of the photos above will be part of a traveling exhibition visiting over 60 locations around the world.
