New York City (officially The City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States. The New York metropolitan area ranks among the world’s most populous urban areas. It is a leading global city, exerting a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, and entertainment. The city is also an important center for international affairs, hosting the United Nations headquarters.

Located on the Atlantic coast of the Northeastern United States, the city consists of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. It is the most densely populated major city in the United States, with an estimated 8,274,527 people occupying just under 305 square miles (790 km2). The New York metropolitan area’s population is also the nation’s highest, estimated at 19,750,000 people over 6,720 square miles (17,400 km2) in three states.

New York is unique among American cities for its high use of mass transit, and for the overall density and diversity of its population. In 2005, nearly 170 languages were spoken in the city and 36% of its population was born outside the United States. The city is sometimes referred to as “The City that Never Sleeps” due to its extensive 24-hour subway system and constant bustling of traffic and people, while other nicknames include Gotham and the Big Apple.

Founded in 1624 as a commercial trading post by the Dutch, who called it New Amsterdam, it served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790, and has been the nation’s largest city since 1790.

Today, the city has many landmarks and neighborhoods that are world famous. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Wall Street, in Lower Manhattan, has been a dominant global financial center since World War II and is home to the New York Stock Exchange. The city has been home to several of the tallest buildings in the world, including the Empire State Building and the twin towers of the former World Trade Center.

New York is the largest city in the United States, with the city proper’s population more than double the next largest city, Los Angeles (or roughly equivalent to the combined populations of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston, America’s second, third, and fourth most populous cities respectively). The city has a population more than that of 39 U.S. states. The estimated 2007 population of New York City is 8,274,527 (up from 7.072 million in 1980). This amounts to about 40% of New York State’s population and a similar percentage of the metropolitan regional population. Over the last decade the city has been growing rapidly. Demographers estimate New York’s population will reach between 9.4 and 9.7 million by 2030. In 2000 the life expectancy of New Yorkers surpassed that of the United States national average. Life expectancy for females born in 2000 in New York City is 80.2 years and for males is 74.5 years.

New York’s two key demographic features are its density and diversity. The city has an extremely high population density of 26,403 people per square mile (10,194/km²), about 10,000 more people per square mile than the next densest large American city, San Francisco. Manhattan’s population density is 66,940 people per square mile (25,846/km²).

The city has a long tradition of attracting international immigration and Americans seeking careers in certain sectors. As of 2006, New York City has ranked number one for seven consecutive years as the city most U.S. residents would most like to live in or near.

This information was taken from wikipedia.org