68% in 2011. Economy Despite massive mineral reserves, Badakhshan is one of the most destitute areas in the world. Opium poppy growing is the only real source of income in the province and Badakhshan has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, due to the complete lack of health infrastructure, inaccessible locations, and bitter winters of the province. Lapis lazuli has been mined in the Sar-e-Sang mines, located in the Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan, for over 6,000 years. The mines were the largest and most well-known source in ancient times. Most recent mining activity has focused on lapis lazuli, with the proceeds from the lapis mines being used to fund Northern Alliance troops, and before that, anti-Soviet Mujahideen fighters. Recent geological surveys have indicated the location of other gemstone deposits, in particular rubies and emeralds. It is estimated that the mines at Kuran wa Munjan District hold up to 1,290 tonnes of azure (lapis lazuli). Exploitation of this mineral wealth could be key to the region's prosperity. On 5 October 2018 in Washington, D.C., Afghan officials signed a 30-year contract involving a $22 million investment by investment group Centar and its operating company, Afghan Gold and Minerals Co., to explore and develop an area of Badakhshan for gold mining. Sport The province is represented in Afghan domestic cricket competitions by the Badakhshan Province cricket team BORNA Cricket Club which belongs to BORNA Institute of Higher Education is coming up with its own team and will be groomed by the experts in the field of cricket. Demographics As of 2020, the population of the province is about 1,054,087, constituting a multi-ethnic rural society. Dari-speaking Tajiks make up the majority followed by a few Uzbeks, Hazaras, Pashtuns, Kyrgyz, Qizilbash, and others. There are also speakers of the following Pamiri languages: Shughni, Munji, Ishkashimi, and Wakhi. The inhabitants of the province are mostly Sunni Muslims, although there are also some Ismaili Shias. 60.1% of the population lived below the national poverty line, one of the higher figures in the country. Districts Notable people from Badakhshan Makhfi Badakhshi, Persian poetess, lived and died in Badakhshan Nūr al-Dīn Jaʿfar Badakhshī, 14th-century disciple of the eminent Central Asian Ṣūfī shaykh Sayyid ʿAlī Hamadānī Mullah Shah Badakhshi, 17th-century Muslim Sufi of the Qadiri order, from Araska in Rustaq area in Badakhshan Tahir Badakhshi, political activist Nāsir Khusraw Qubādiyānī Balkhi, 11th-century Persian