Hampshire (/ˈhæmpʃər/, /-ʃɪər/ ( listen); abbreviated Hants) is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, the former capital city of England.
Hampshire is the most populous ceremonial county in the United Kingdom (excluding the metropolitan counties). Its two largest settlements, Southampton and Portsmouth, are administered separately as unitary authorities. The rest of the area forms the administrative county, which is governed by Hampshire County Council. The two cities are the main settlements within the South Hampshire conurbation, which is home to about half of the ceremonial county's population. The larger South Hampshire metropolitan area has a population of 1,547,000.