Current US Poverty Statistics. Income i. ï· The federal poverty line is $11,892 for individuals and $23,836 for a family of four. ï· The official poverty rate is 14.5%, meaning 45.3 million people in the US live in poverty, up by over 8 million since. 2008. An additional 97.3 million (33%) of people living in the United States are low-income, defined as incomes. below twice the federal poverty line, or $47,700 for a family of four.
Mesopotamia, the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in present-day Iraq, is often considered the cradle of civilization. It was here that civilization, characterized by cities, monumental architecture, and writing, began to develop about 7,000 years ago.
The 4,100 year old Great Ziggurat of Ur in southern Iraq. Iraq has one of the world's oldest cultural histories. Iraq is where the Ancient Mesopotamian civilizations were, whose legacy went on to influence and shape the civilizations of the Old World. Culturally, Iraq has a very rich heritage. The country is known for its poets and its painters and sculptors are among the best in the Arab world, some of them being world-class. Iraq is known for producing fine handicrafts, including rugs and carpets.