From spiralling conflicts and the ongoing migrant crisis, to elections and more snapshots of life in the year 2016, Magnum President Martin Parr selects the final edit of the 2016 photographers’ choice for pictures of the year. Reflecting on Magnum’s coverage of the past year, Parr said:

“I was very struck, when reviewing the shortlist for the best of the year, from my Magnum colleagues by the rich variety of places, events and people they have encountered over 2016. From Raghu Rai witnessing the Pope declaring Mother Theresa a saint, Ian Berry documenting gold panning in Africa, through to a cattle sale in California, from Matt Black’s ongoing exploration of poverty in the USA, not to mention the ongoing war in Syria from Jerome Sessini. Our contemporary world is both scary and even re-assuring, but the need to record and interpret world events feels as urgent now as it ever has and Magnum photographers are out there adding to the remarkable archive that has been created since their founding in 1947. They can create eloquent images that help us to understand and witness this crazy world we all inhabit.”