Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, 9,250 square miles, and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state. Originally inhabited by two major Native American tribes (the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and the Iroquois), much of the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by France in the early colonial period.