Catalina Duque of Colombia is the new Miss International.
She earned the 2025 title on Thursday, November 27, during the pageant held in Tokyo, Japan.
Duque replaced last year’s winner, Huynh Thi Thanh Thuy of Vietnam, after standing out among 79 contestants.
Yollanda Chimbarami of Zimbabwe finished as first runner-up. Paola Guzmán Sanchez of Bolivia placed second runner-up, while Indonesia’s Melliza Xaviera Yulian took third runner-up.
The Philippines’ bet, Myrna Esguerra, completed the Top 5 as fourth runner-up.
Esguerra aimed to bring home the country’s seventh Miss International crown, joining past winners Kylie Verzosa, Bea Rose Santiago, Precious Lara Quigaman, Melanie Marquez, Aurora Pijuan, and Gemma Cruz. She earned her national title, Binibining Pilipinas International 2024, more than a year ago and had been preparing since then.
This year’s pageant used a tighter, refreshed format. All 80 candidates first appeared in their national costumes, where Ghana picked up the special award.
Esguerra advanced to the Top 20 and showed strong presence in both swimsuit and evening gown, keeping the clean and graceful style the pageant is known for.
Clips of each semi-finalist’s advocacy aired during the show. Esguerra highlighted quality education, explaining how it changed her life growing up with limited means.
Miss International continues to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and the Top 10 contestants were asked to speak about their chosen SDGs. Esguerra focused on SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 17 (partnerships), sharing her work through Project Dream Readers.
She talked about being the only one among her 17 siblings to finish college and how her advocacy aims to give children better access to learning.
The Top 5 later answered the final question: “If you were to describe your entire Miss International experience to your family and loved ones, what would you tell them?”
Esguerra said she gained “79 more siblings” and learned the value of friendship and helping others. She added that the pageant helped her grow as a person and strengthened her commitment to her advocacy.
Her run ended with a strong Top 5 finish, keeping the Philippines’ strong Miss International streak alive.