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Downstate New York is a region that generally consists of the southeastern and more densely populated portion of the U.S. state of New York, in contrast to Upstate New York, which comprises a larger geographic area with much sparser population distribution. While there is no widely agreed upon definition, the Downstate region, like Upstate New York, is considered to consist of several subregions, such as New York City, the Lower Hudson Valley&mdash;Westchester County and Rockland County, and Long Island. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) defines its "Downstate Region" as including Dutchess and Orange counties, with other non-government organizations and colleges including Putnam County as well. Both agencies and the general public use varying definitions of the boundary between Upstate and Downstate.

Despite being a very small portion of the state's total land area, the Downstate region contains approximately two-thirds of New York's entire population. Its layout is largely urban and suburban, and constitutes New York State's portion of the New York metropolitan area, the world's largest urban landmass. New York City, the most populous city in the United States, is home to the United Nations headquarters, and has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world,  as well as the world's most economically powerful city, and is sometimes described as the capital of the world. The Upstate New York region, conversely, which forms the vast majority of the state's land area, contains more undeveloped land, including forests and farmland.

Definition
While the official boundary between is not consistent or officially established by the Government of the State of New York, the New York State Department of Transportation identifies the following as located within the "Downstate Region" of New York State: New York City&mdash;Manhattan (New York County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Brooklyn (Kings County), Queens (Queens County), and Staten Island (Richmond County)&mdash;the Suffolk and Nassau Counties of Long Island, and the lower Hudson River Valley&mdash;Westchester County, Rockland County, Dutchess County, and Orange County. The State University of New York (SUNY) school system expands the term to Putnam County, Ulster County, Greene County, and Columbia County, neglecting what is usually considered the Capital District and wider Hudson River Valley.

Other definitions include the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's description of Upstate New York as anything above the Bronx-Westchester border, and thus Downstate as anything below. Another common definition locates the border between Upstate and Downstate where the New York City suburb style segues into exurbs, which generally matches with the Department of Transportation definition, while also including only one-third of Putnam County in Downstate New York. This definition is corroborated by the SUNY's University at Albany school.

While all of the above sources and organizations differ in their definition of Downstate New York, they remain consistent in their placement of New York City and Long Island in the region. However, Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Putnam, Columbia, Ulster, and Greene counties remain disputed.

Early history
While Upstate New York was inhabited by Native American Iroquoians, Downstate was inhabited by Algonquian tribes. Native Americans inhabited Downstate New York for many centuries prior to European arrival in the Americas. Since at least 10,500 BC, Greene County was inhabited by Native American peoples. Columbia County and some parts of Greene County were inhabited by Mohicans, more specifically the Wawyachtonoc and Wiekagjoc tribes. Dutchess County was also home to the Wawyachtonoc tribe, as well as the Wappinger people. The Wappinger people also held territory from Westchester and Putnam to Manhattan and the Bronx. The Canopus group of the Wappinger tribe were the main occupants of Putnam County.

The Lenni Lenape people inhabited the southern portion of Downstate New York, including Westchester County. The Munsee subtribe were the original inhabitants of Orange County, living around the Minisink Valley area. The Waoraneck and Warranawankong people lived in Ulster County and the Tappan people lived in Rockland County. The Lenape also inhabited the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island. Long Island&mdash;Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau County, and Suffolk County&mdash;were inhabited by at least thirteen different tribes, such as the Shinnecock and Canarsee.

European settlement
While sailing up the East Coast of the United States on April 17, 1524, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, under the Kingdom of France, sailed into through The Narrows and into the New York Harbor. This event marked not only the first European discovery of Downstate New York, but New York as a whole. Verrazzano identified the area which he explored as New Angoulême https://france-amerique.com/when-new-york-was-called-angouleme/

Official usage
One official usage of the term is by the State University of New York ("SUNY") system in the name of its southernmost medical school, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, located in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. The New York State Department of Transportation also uses the term. The term is also used by the New York State Department of Corrections (“NYSDOC”) system in the name of its Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill, New York.