Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and normally called 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 hence not a part of any U.S. state. It was formed from land along the Potomac River donated by the state of Maryland and the state of Virginia; then again, the the section within Virginia was returned by Congress during 1846.
A new capital city named after George Washington was founded during the year 1791 to the east of the preexisting port of Georgetown. The City of Washington, Georgetown, and the remaining unincorporated region within the District were consolidated under a single government during the year 1871, that formed Washington, D.C., like it exists at present. The city of Washington shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington, located on the Pacific coast of the nation.
The city state of D.C. had a population just over 600,000 inhabitants. During the workweek, commuters coming from the suburbs of Virginia and Maryland increase the population to over 1 million. The Washington Metropolitan Area, wherein the District is a part, has a population of almost 5.6 million, the seventh-largest metropolitan region in the country.
Situated within this district are all three branches of the federal government of the United States, and a lot of national museums and monuments. The city of Washington likewise hosts embassies of 176 foreign nations as well as the International Monetary Bank or IMF, the headquarters of the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization of American States or OAS, and the Pan American Health Organization or also referred to as PAHO. The head offices of many other institutions like trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups, and professional associations are likewise situated in the city.
D.C. has its own city council led by a 13-member council and a mayor. The Congress does however, have authority over the city of Washington and could overturn local laws. Residents therefore have less self-governance than inhabitants of the U.S. states. The District has at-large, a non-voting Congressional delegate, but without senators.
Washington has a diversified, growing economy with an increasing percentage of business service and professional jobs. The gross state product of the District in 2010 was $103.3 billion, which will rank it No. 34 as opposed to the 50 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 country. The District of Columbia itself had a 9.8% unemployment rate during the same time period.
The District has growing industries not directly connected to government, especially in the fields of finance, education, public policy, and scientific research. Georgetown University, George Washington University, Children's National Medical Center, Howard University and Washington Hospital Center are the top five non-government-related businesses within the city of Washington as of 2009. There are five Fortune 1000 companies based in the city of Washington, of which two are likewise Fortune 500 companies.