Delaware shares the Delmarva Peninsula with Maryland and Virginia; this peninsula is located between Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. The state is bordered by Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Atlantic Ocean. As the first of the original thirteen colonies to ratify the United States Constitution it is recognized as The First State. Delawareans are proud of their state bird the Blue Hen Chicken, their official state bug the Lady Bug, and their reputation for a special kind of hospitality that prevails from their rich farm lands and industrial centers to their popular beach communities of Rehoboth, Bethany, Dewey, and Fenwick Island. The state has two natural regions: the Atlantic Coastal Plain which covers all of the state except the Piedmont Plateau, a small strip in the northwestern corner. Ships from around the world sail up its major river, the Delaware, which links the harbor at Wilmington with the Atlantic Ocean. Near the southern tip of the state is Lewes, one of the oldest ports on the East Coast. Primary cities include Dover, the state capital, Wilmington, the largest city, Newark, Seaford, Middletown, New Castle, and Georgetown. Delaware is the nation's second smallest state with an estimated population of 780,000, and nearly two-thirds of that population is concentrated in the Wilmington metro area.

The state's most important natural resources are rich soil and abundant water. It is blessed with recreational opportunities, from its challenging golf courses and many campgrounds to boating and sport fishing and world class beach resorts. Notable points of interest are the Zwaanendael Museum at Lewes; the Cannonball House Marine Museum; Cape Henlopen State Park; Barratt's Chapel where the Methodist Church of America was organized in 1784; Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library; Fenwick Island Lighthouse; Delaware's State Museum in Dover and the Museum of Natural History in Greenville; Old Town Hall and Fort Christina in Wilmington; the Hagley Museum of industrial exhibits; and Cooch's Bridge, the site of Delaware's only battle in the Revolutionary War. Other popular attractions are the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge; the Delaware Center of Performing Arts in Wilmington; the 5000-acre Delaware Dunes; the John Dickinson Plantation; and the 1812 Memorial Park.

Delaware is known as "The Home of Corporations" because it is the headquarters location of some of the nation's largest corporations, including E.I. duPont de Nemours, the largest chemical company in the world. The state is divided into three counties: industrialized New Castle and predominantly agricultural Kent and Sussex. In addition to agriculture, commercial fishing, and shipping, its economic base includes service industries and such manufacturers as chemicals, food processing, paper products, rubber and plastic products, scientific instruments, printing and publishing, metal products, machinery, textiles, and transportation equipment. The area is served by the Wilmington port; the Cape May-Lewes Ferry which crosses Delaware Bay to connect Lewes with Cape May, New Jersey; the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (part of the Intracoastal Waterway) linking Wilmington and Baltimore; a major railroad and interstate highway system; Greater Wilmington Airport and nearby Philadelphia International and Baltimore-Washington International airports.

The Delaware (Lenni Lenape) Indians were living in the Delaware area when the English explorer Henry Hudson discovered the bay in 1609. A year later, when a ship commanded by Samuel Argall was blown into the bay by a storm, Argall named the area after Lord De La Warr, the first governor of colonial Virginia. In 1631 Dutch colonists landed at Lewes and called their settlement Zwaanendael (Valley of Swans). New Sweden, the first permanent settlement in Delaware, was established in 1638 on Christina River at present-day Wilmington. This colony was captured in 1651 by the Dutch and made part of New Netherlands (New York) until seized by the English. Border disputes with Pennsylvania and Maryland were not resolved until the time of the Declaration of Independence when Delaware established its own separate government and boundaries. It became the nation's first state on December 7, 1787.