Venezuela's opposition leader and pro-democracy activist María Coria Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

Machado was hailed by the Nobel Committee as "one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times" and praised for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela".

For years she has campaigned against Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro Moros, whose 12-year rule is viewed by many nations as illegitimate.

Among those who missed out was US President Donald Trump, who has made no secret of his desire to be given the prestigious award, with multiple public overtures referencing the seven wars he claims to have ended.

Announcing the recipient of the prize at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo on Friday, the awarding committee warned that "democracy is in retreat" across the world.

Machado, 58, who has been forced to live in hiding for much of the past year, was recognised for "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy", Nobel chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes said.

She has been a "key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided... in a brutal authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis", he added.

"Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions."

Machado was barred from running in Venezuela's 2024 presidential election, in which Maduro won a third six-year term in office. 

The elections were widely dismissed on the international stage as neither free nor fair, and sparked protests across the country.

Despite being barred from running herself, she succeeded in uniting an often fractured opposition behind the little-known candidate who replaced her on the ballot, Edmundo González.

When the government-controlled National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner - even though tallies from polling stations showed that González had won by a landslide - Machado continued to campaign from hiding as the Maduro government has repeatedly threatened her with arrest.

Machado expressed shock in response to the award, saying it was the "achievement of a whole society".

"I am just one person. I certainly do not deserve this," she said in a video message.

González, meanwhile, wrote on social media that the prize was "well-deserved recognition for the long struggle of a woman and of an entire people for our freedom and democracy".

Frydnes was critical of Venezuela's leadership during a news conference after the prize was announced, saying the committee saw the same trends emerging around the world.

"[The] rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation," he said.

He added that he hoped Machado would be able to attend the award ceremony in Oslo in December but acknowledged the serious security situation.

There were 338 candidates nominated for this year's peace prize, according to the Nobel Committee - though the names of the nominees will not be revealed for 50 years, as per tradition.

Trump has repeatedly said that he deserves the award, on one occasion declaring that "everyone says I should get it".

A number of world leaders backed his bid, including Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, who publicly revealed a nomination letter while visiting the White House, as well as the governments of Pakistan and Azerbaijan - despite nominations closing in January, just as Trump's second term began.

Asked whether pressure from the US president and some in the international community to award Trump the prize had impacted the committee's deliberations, Frydnes said there had been many campaigns and "media tension" in the "long history" of the Nobel Peace Prize.

"We base our decision only on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel," he said.

The Nobel Prize, which is split into six categories, celebrates the work of people or organisations that have contributed "the greatest benefit to humankind".

Frydnes said that Machado met "all the criteria" laid out by Nobel for the prize, and "embodies hope for the future".