Maryland is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to its east, and the national capital of Washington, D.C. to the southwest. With a total area of 12,407 square miles, Maryland is the ninth-smallest state by land area, and its population of 6,177,224 ranks it the 19th-most populous state and the fifth-most densely populated.