the families headed by females being 4.0 and 5.4 for families headed by men. The total eligible voters in the province was 65.40 per cent. The unemployment rate of the province was 7.70 per cent. The total fertility rate (TFR) was 7.3, complete birth rate was 6.5, crude birth rate was 39.0, child women population at birth was 835, general fertility rate was 172, gross reproduction rate was 2.7 and net reproduction rate was 1.8. The total labour force constituted 58.60 per cent of the total population. Out of the labour force, 66.2 per cent were men and 51.7 per cent women. The annual growth rate of labour force was 1.9 per cent. Bemba was the most spoken language with 71.30 per cent speaking it. Albinism is a condition where the victims do not have any pigment in their skin, hair or eyes. The total population in the province with the condition stood at 2,278. The life expectancy at birth stood at 45 compared to the national average of 51. Luapula is one of the poorest provinces in Zambia with 80.5 per cent of the population accounted as poor and 64.9 as extremely poor as of 2010, compared to 73.9 and 53.5 per cent in 2006. Among all provinces, Luapula recorded the highest TFR of 7.3, and also the highest infant mortality rate (IMR) of 100 deaths per 1,000 births as of 2010. Economy and utility services As per the report of agricultural statistics of 2014 published by the Central Statistical Office of Zambia, the major economic activity in the province was fishing. The chief artery of the province is the Samfya-Mansa-Mwansabombwe-Nchelenge highway, known as the Zambia Way. Though rich in natural resources, the province is one of the backward districts in the country. As of 2004, 79 per cent of the population was poor against a national average of 68. The total area of crops planted during the year 2014 in the province was which constituted 3.06 per cent of the total area cultivated in Zambia. The net production stood at 150,029 metric tonnes, which formed 3.68 per cent of the total agricultural production in the country. Sweet potato was the major crop in the province with 11,356 metric tonnes, constituting 7.56 per cent of the national output. As of 2004, the province had 527 basic schools, 20 high schools. The number of school children out of school in