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 Forklift Masts Washington, D.C. - Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or just D.C., is the capital of the United States. On the 16th of July, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution. The federal district is therefore not a part of any U.S. state. It was formed from land along the Potomac River donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia; then again, the Virginia section was returned by Congress in 1846.
The new capital was established in 1791, east of the preexisting port of Georgetown; named after George Washington. Washington City, Georgetown, and the remaining unincorporated area within the District were consolidated under one government in the year 1871, which formed Washington, D.C., as it exists at present. The city of Washington shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington, located on the country's Pacific coast.
The city of Washington had a population just over 600,000 people. During the workweek, commuters coming from the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia increase the population to over 1 million. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of almost 5.6 million, the 7th-biggest metropolitan region in the United States.
Located in this district are all three branches of the federal government of the United States, and many national monuments and museums. The city of Washington also hosts embassies of 176 foreign countries together with the head office of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or also called IMF, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization of American States or also known as OAS, as well as the Pan American Health Organization or PAHO. The headquarters of various other institutions like for example trade unions, non-profit organizations, professional associations and lobbying groups are also situated in the city of Washington.
The District is governed by a 13-member city council and a mayor. However, the United States Congress has supreme authority over the city of Washington and can overturn local laws. People therefore have less self-governance than people of the U.S. states. The District has a non-voting, at-large Congressional delegate, but with no senators.
Washington has a growing, diversified economy with an increasing percentage of professional and business service jobs. The gross state product of the District in 2010 was $103.3 billion, which will place it No. 34 as opposed to the fifty U.S. states. As of the month of June 2011, the Washington Metropolitan Area had an unemployment rate of 6.2%; the 2nd-lowest rate among the 49 biggest metro areas in the US. The District of Columbia itself had an unemployment rate of 9.8% during the same time period.
The businesses which are growing in the District not related to governments, consisting of economies within the sectors of finance, education, scientific research and public policy. As of the year 2009, the leading five non-government-related businesses within the city of Washington are Washington Hospital Center, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Howard University and Children's National Medical Center. There are five Fortune 1000 companies based within Washington, wherein two are likewise Fortune 500 companies.
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