New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th most extensive, 4th most populous and 7th most densely populated U.S. state. The state has a maritime border in the Atlantic Ocean with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, in addition to aninternational border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the west and north. New York is surrounded by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. The state of New York, with an estimated 19.8 million residents in 2015, is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City, the state’s most populous city and its economic hub. New York’s gross state product in 2015 was $1.44 trillion. If New York State were an independent nation, it would rank as the 12th or 13th largest economy in the world. However, in 2013, the multi-state, New York City-centered Metropolitan Statistical Area produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of nearly US$1.4 trillion, while in 2012, the corresponding Combined Statistical Area generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion, both ranking first nationally by a wide margin and behind the GDP of only twelve nations and eleven nations, respectively