New Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S. states, New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanics at 43%, comprising mostly recent immigrants and even some descendants of Spanish colonists. It also has the third-highest percentage of Native Americans after Alaska and Oklahoma, and the fifth-highest total number of Native Americans after California, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Texas.