New York City Travel Guide
New York City (officially the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States of America. The city's business, financial and trading organizations play a significant role in the economy of the nation and in the world, as a result, the city has the largest regional economy in the country. The city is also one of the world's most important cultural centers and is the home of the United Nations.
The city is divided up into five boroughs (Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island) and has a population of 8.1 million within a land area of 321 square miles (830 km²), making it the most densely populated city in North America. With a population of 18.7 million, the New York metropolitan area is one of the largest urban areas in the world. The city is also the center of the so-called BosWash megalopolis, an urbanized region containing 45 million people and approximately 16 percent of the population of the United States.
New York City has been a center of the world's financial system since World War II and home to many of the world's most influential stock markets and financial institutions. In addition, it is the birthplace of many American cultural movements, including the Harlem Renaissance in literature and visual art, abstract expressionism in painting, and hip hop in music. The city's cultural vitality has been fueled by immigration since its founding by Dutch settlers in 1623. In 2005, 36.6% of the city's population was foreign born. New York City is also notable for having the lowest crime rate and the highest tax burden among the ten largest American cities.
