Hampshire

Hampshire (abbr. Hants) is a county on the south coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county borders (clockwise from West), Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex. The county is 1,455 square miles (3,769 km²) in size and at its widest points is approximately 55 miles (90 km) east-west and 40 miles (65 km) north-south. The county town is Winchester situated at {{coor dms|51|03|35|N|1|18|36|W|}}. The 2001 census gave the population of the administrative county as 1.24 million; the ceremonial county also includes the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton, which are administratively independent, and has a total population of 1.6 million.

Economy

Hampshire is a relatively affluent county, with a Gross domestic product (GDP) of £22.9 million (£16.3 million when excluding Southampton and Portsmouth). This makes it the sixth largest economy in England, and is equal in size to the economy of Northern Ireland, making up 2% each of the economy of the UK as a whole. In terms of GDP per head Hampshire is just above the national average at 105% (37th highest in England), rising to 122% when including Southampton and Portsmouth. The highest GDP per head is Portsmouth at 144% of the national average {{ref|gdp}}.

Related Topics:
Gross domestic product - £ - Northern Ireland

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Portsmouth and Winchester have the highest job densities in the county, and there is therefore a high level of commuting into the cities. Southampton has the highest number of total jobs and commuting both into and out of the city is high. The county has a lower level of unemployment than the national average, at 1.9% when the national rate was 3.3%, and as of March 2005 has fallen to 1.1%. 39% are employed by large firms, compared to a national average of 42%. Hampshire has a considerably higher than national average employment in high-tech industries, but average levels in knowledge based industry. 25.21% of the population work in the public sector {{ref|economy}}.

Related Topics:
Unemployment - Public sector

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Many rural areas of Hampshire have traditionally been reliant on agriculture, though the county was less agricultural than most surrounding counties, and was mostly concentrated on dairy farming. The significance of agriculture as an employer and wealth creator has declined since the first half of the 20th century and agriculture currently employs 1.32% of the population. The New Forest area is a National Park, and tourism is a significant economic segment in this area.

Related Topics:
Agriculture - Dairy farming - 20th century - New Forest - National Park - Tourism

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The cities of Southampton and Portsmouth are both significant ports, with Southampton handling a large proportion of the national container freight and Portsmouth housing a large Royal Navy base. The docks have traditionally been large employers in these cities, though again mechanisation has forced diversification of the economy.

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