First established by the UN General Assembly in 1981, the United Nations Population Award will this year be jointly awarded to Rosling and community organization the Association of Traditional Chiefs of Niger. The award “recognizes outstanding achievements in population and health,” according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Rosling, who died from pancreatic cancer in February, was a medical doctor and former professor at the Karolinska Institute, but was best known to most on the international stage for his engaging talks on numbers and facts. His presentations have chalked up millions of views on Youtube.
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“Among his contributions were creative presentations on global health and poverty,” the UNFPA noted, adding that he “regularly gave pro bono presentations to educate and raise awareness of global health issues”.
Rosling also co-founded the Gapminder Foundation, an organization that aims to explain developments in the world by using statistics.
The United Nations Population Award will be handed out at the end of June.