The Community Assembly of Hampshire (abbreviated to Hants) is located in a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, Dorset to the west, and Wiltshire to the north-west. The city of Southampton is the largest settlement, and the county town is the city of Winchester.

Undulating hills characterise much of the county. A belt of chalk crosses the county from north-west, where it forms the Hampshire Downs, to south-east, where it is part of the South Downs.

Settled about 14,000 years ago, Hampshire's recorded history dates to the Roman Britain, when its chief town was Venta Belgarum (now Winchester). From the 12th century, the ports settlements grew due to increasing trade with the European mainland as a result of the wool, cloth, fishing, and shipbuilding industries. This meant by the 16th century, Southampton had become more populous than Winchester.