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 Seats for Forklifts Washington, D.C. - Previously the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. has been known simply as Washington, "the District", and likewise D.C. The US Congress on July 16, the year 1790, approved the creation of a permanent national capital city state as permitted by the U.S. Constitution. The federal district is thus 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; however, the Virginia part was returned by Congress during the year 1846.
A new capital city named after George Washington was founded in the year 1791 to the east of the preexisting port of Georgetown. The City of Washington, Georgetown, and the remaining unincorporated area in the District were consolidated under a single government during 1871, which 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 US.
The city state of D.C. had a population just over 600,000 people. During the workweek, commuters coming from the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia raise the population to over 1 million. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of approximately 5.6 million, the 7th-largest metropolitan region in the United States.
The centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are situated in the District, as are many of the country's museums and monuments. Washington, D.C., hosts 176 foreign embassies along with the headquarters 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, and the Pan American Health Organization or likewise referred to as PAHO. The head offices of various other institutions like for instance non-profit organizations, trade-unions, professional associations and lobbying groups are also located within the city.
The District is governed by a 13-member city council and a mayor. However, the United States Congress has supreme authority over the city and could overturn local laws. Inhabitants therefore have less self-governance than inhabitants of the U.S. states. The District has at-large, a non-voting Congressional delegate, but no senators.
The economy of the city of Washington has an economy which is diversified and growing with a large percentage of professional and business service jobs. In the year 2010, the District had a gross state product of $103.3 billion, which would rank it ahead of 16 US states. As of the month of June the year 2011, the Washington Metropolitan Area had an unemployment rate of 6.2%; the second-lowest rate among the 49 largest metro areas in the nation. The District of Columbia itself had a 9.8% unemployment rate during the same time period.
The District has growing industries not completely associated to government, particularly within the areas of finance, education, scientific research and public policy. George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University, Washington Hospital Center and the Children's national Medical Center are the top five non-government-related businesses in the city of Washington as of 2009. There are five Fortune 1000 businesses based in Washington, of which two are also Fortune 500 businesses.
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