Delaware Facts -- National Geographic

Fast Facts

Population:: 817,491
Capital:: Dover; 32,581
Area:: 2,489 square miles (6,447 square kilometers)
Per Capita Income:: U.S. $32,307
Date Statehood Achieved:: December 7, 1787

E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., the chemicals and plastics giant, established a gunpowder plant near Wilmington in 1802. Today more than 300,000 companies are incorporated in Delaware, which offers a business-friendly community. The favorable business climate has particularly spurred growth in banking and financial services. In 1971, in an effort to protect beaches and wetlands, the state legislature passed the nation's first coastal-zone act, banning waterfront industries that pollute.

ECONOMY

Industry: Food processing, chemicals, rubber and plastic products, scientific instruments, printing and publishing
Agriculture: Poultry, soybeans, nursery stock, corn, vegetables, dairy products

—Text From National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition

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