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Capitals of the world
Washington, capital of United States: facts and figures
Washington is the capital of United States. It has about 6,300,000 residents, which makes it the 26th most populous capital of the 172 in DailyGeo's atlas, and it sits 31 m above sea level. Its nearest neighbouring capital is Ottawa, 732 km away.
Key figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Continent | North America |
| City population | 6,300,000 residents |
| World rank by population | 26th of 172 |
| Elevation | 31 m |
| Founded | 1790 |
| Time zone | America/New_York |
| Coordinates | 38.91° N, 77.04° W |
| Country population | 341,784,857 residents |
| Country GDP | 30.8 trillion US dollars |
| GDP per capita | $90,027 |
| Life expectancy | 78.9 years |
| Internet users | 94.7 % |
| Big Mac price | $6.22 (about $6.22) |
Climate through the year
Washington averages 3.5 °C in winter and 24.5 °C in summer. January is the coldest month of the year and July the warmest, and the city receives 1,357 mm of precipitation in an average year.
| Month | Mean temperature |
|---|---|
| January | 2.0 °C |
| February | 3.9 °C |
| March | 7.4 °C |
| April | 13.1 °C |
| May | 18.2 °C |
| June | 23.1 °C |
| July | 25.8 °C |
| August | 24.6 °C |
| September | 21.5 °C |
| October | 15.3 °C |
| November | 8.8 °C |
| December | 4.7 °C |
What makes it stand out
- Size: 2nd most populous capital in North America (6,300,000 residents).
- Winter: 2nd coldest capital in North America (3.5 °C).
- Latitude: 2nd northernmost capital in North America (38.91°).
- Wealth: capital of the richest country per head in North America ($90,027).
- Prices: 3rd priciest capital for a Big Mac in North America ($6.22).
- Isolation: 3rd most isolated capital in North America (732 km).
Nearest capitals
Distances are great-circle distances between city centres, which is what the Capitals game measures when it tells you how far a guess was from the answer. Ottawa is the closest capital to Washington.
| Capital | Country | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | Canada | 732 km |
| Nassau | Bahamas | 1,540 km |
| Havana | Cuba | 1,828 km |
| Port-au-Prince | Haiti | 2,305 km |
| Kingston | Jamaica | 2,329 km |
How to remember it
Reading a figure once rarely fixes it in memory. Attach Washington to a place and a number you already know: it is 732 km from Ottawa, and it is the 26th largest capital in the atlas. Then practise retrieving it. DailyGeo Capitals gives you one mystery capital a day with distance, direction, language and population clues, the memorising method explains the review schedule, and the capitals index lists all 172.
To see how United States compares with every other country on figures like these, the most expensive Big Mac index ranks them on geopolitix, a country-ranking game by the same maker as DailyGeo.
Sources
- City population and coordinates: DailyGeo's own game data, the same figures the Capitals game plays with. Population follows the urban area rather than the commune, which is why no density is quoted.
- Temperature and rainfall: ten-year means (2015 to 2024) computed from ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through Open-Meteo. Hersbach, H., et al. (2020). The ERA5 global reanalysis. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.
- Elevation: terrain height at the city's coordinates in the Copernicus DEM, read through Open-Meteo rather than taken from a curated claim.
- Time zone: resolved from the same coordinates.
- Country figures: the World Bank, latest reported year for each series: Country GDP, GDP per capita, Country population, Life expectancy, Internet users.
- Big Mac price: The Economist's Big Mac index, from its published dataset. The index covers about 55 economies, so most capitals here have no figure.
- Founding date: Wikidata, earliest recorded founding claim.
- This capital elsewhere: Wikipedia, UNdata, Wikidata.
- Method and limits: How this data was collected explains how each figure was collected and what it does not cover.
The short answer
Washington is the capital of United States, in North America, with about 6,300,000 residents, averaging 3.5 °C in winter and 24.5 °C in summer.
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Play today's DailyGeo puzzleFrequently asked questions
What is the capital of United States?
Washington is the capital of United States. It has about 6,300,000 residents and lies in North America.
How many people live in Washington?
About 6,300,000, which ranks Washington 26th of the 172 capitals in DailyGeo's atlas by city population.
What is the weather like in Washington?
Washington averages 3.5 °C in winter and 24.5 °C in summer, with 1,357 mm of precipitation a year. These are ten-year means from ERA5 reanalysis.
How expensive is Washington?
A Big Mac costs $6.22 (about $6.22) there. GDP per capita in the country is $90,027, the latest year the World Bank reports.
Keep learning
- Ottawa, capital of Canada: facts and figures
Ottawa is the capital of Canada: 1,400,000 residents, 75 m above sea level, -6.4 °C in winter and 20.1 °C in summer. Key figures and sources.
- Nassau, capital of Bahamas: facts and figures
Nassau is the capital of Bahamas: 270,000 residents, 3 m above sea level, 23.3 °C in winter and 28.5 °C in summer. Key figures and sources.
- Havana, capital of Cuba: facts and figures
Havana is the capital of Cuba: 2,100,000 residents, 14 m above sea level, 23.2 °C from December to February and 28.2 °C from June to August. Key figures and sources.
- Capitals of the world: the full list by continent
Every capital in DailyGeo's atlas, grouped by continent, with population, elevation and winter and summer temperatures, each linking to its own data page.