Hampshire
§ This page provides an overview of an England's ceremonial county. Our website has 48 such county pages.
Overview ⁞ Hampshire is one of the largest counties in southern England, with a varied landscape of coast, countryside, and cities. Its two major cities, Southampton and Portsmouth, are both unitary authorities but remain within the ceremonial county. The administrative centre is Winchester, a historic cathedral city. Hampshire’s economy is strong in defence, maritime, and technology, with the New Forest and South Downs offering recreational and natural appeal.
Is Hampshire a historic county? Yes—Hampshire is a historic county. Administratively, the ceremonial county includes Hampshire County Council (with its districts) plus the separate unitary authorities of Portsmouth and Southampton.
Hampshire has 13 Local Authority Districts. The chart below shows how this compares with other counties in England.
Local Authorities in Hampshire
- Hampshire County Council (County Council) 🔗 hants.gov.uk
- Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 basingstoke.gov.uk
- East Hampshire District Council (District Council) 🔗 easthants.gov.uk
- Eastleigh Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 eastleigh.gov.uk
- Fareham Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 fareham.gov.uk
- Gosport Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 gosport.gov.uk
- Hart District Council (District Council) 🔗 hart.gov.uk
- Havant Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 havant.gov.uk
- New Forest District Council (District Council) 🔗 newforest.gov.uk
- Rushmoor Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 rushmoor.gov.uk
- Test Valley Borough Council (District Council) 🔗 testvalley.gov.uk
- Winchester City Council (District Council) 🔗 winchester.gov.uk
- Portsmouth City Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 portsmouth.gov.uk
- Southampton City Council (Unitary Authority) 🔗 southampton.gov.uk
Hampshire, in England’s South East region, has a two-tier system of local government with Hampshire County Council delivering county-wide services such as education, transport, and social care, supported by 11 district and borough councils that manage local matters including planning, housing, and waste collection. These are Basingstoke and Deane, East Hampshire, Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Hart, Havant, New Forest, Rushmoor, Test Valley, and Winchester. In addition, the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton operate as separate unitary authorities with their own councils, independent of the county council, each responsible for all local services in their areas. Together, these councils govern a diverse county that includes the historic cathedral city of Winchester, naval heritage in Portsmouth, the port of Southampton, the New Forest National Park, and both rural and urban communities, balancing strategic oversight with locally focused governance.
Districts in Hampshire
- Basingstoke and Deane
- East Hampshire
- Eastleigh
- Fareham
- Gosport
- Hart
- Havant
- New Forest
- Portsmouth
- Rushmoor
- Southampton
- Test Valley
- Winchester
(ITL 1) South East
(ITL 2) ⇒ Hampshire and Isle of Wight
(ITL 3) ⇒⇒ Portsmouth ⁞ Southampton ⁞ Isle of Wight ⁞ South Hampshire ⁞ Central Hampshire ⁞ North Hampshire
Constituencies in Hampshire
- Aldershot
- Basingstoke
- East Hampshire
- Eastleigh
- Fareham and Waterlooville
- Farnham and Bordon
- Gosport
- Hamble Valley
- Havant
- New Forest East
- New Forest West
- North East Hampshire
- North West Hampshire
- Portsmouth North
- Portsmouth South
- Romsey and Southampton North
- Southampton Itchen
- Southampton Test
- Winchester
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 19 of them are in Hampshire.