The City of New York, often called New York City (NYC) or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States.[12] With an estimated 2017 population of 8,622,698[5] distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles (784 km2),[13][14] New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States.[15] Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass[16] and one of the world's most populous megacities,[17][18] with an estimated 20,320,876 people in its 2017 Metropolitan Statistical Area and 23,876,155 residents in its Combined Statistical Area.[6][7] A global power city,[19] New York City has been described as the cultural,[20][21][22][23] financial,[24][25] and media capital of the world,[26][27] and exerts a significant impact upon commerce,[25] entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. The city's fast pace[28][29] has inspired the term New York minute.[30] Home to the headquarters of the United Nations,[31] New York is an important center for international diplomacy.[32][33] Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors,[34][35] New York City consists of five boroughs, each of which is a separate county of the State of New York.[36] The five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898.[37] The city and its metropolitan area constitute the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States.[38] As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York,[39][40][41] making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.[40][42][43] New York City is home to more than 3.2 million residents born outside the United States,[44] the largest foreign-born population of any city in the world.[45] In 2017, the New York metropolitan area produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of US$1.73 trillion.[9] If greater New York City were a sovereign state, it would have the 12th highest GDP in the world.[46] New York is home to the highest number of billionaires of any city in the world.[47]

New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded by colonists from the Dutch Republic in 1624 on Lower Manhattan; the post was named New Amsterdam in 1626.[48] The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664[48] and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York.[49] New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790.[50] It has been the country's largest city since 1790.[51] The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries[52] and is an international symbol of the United States and its ideals of liberty and peace.[53] In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a global node of creativity and entrepreneurship,[54] social tolerance,[55] and environmental sustainability,[56][57] and as a symbol of freedom and cultural diversity.[58]