Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. The town is 48 miles (77 km) southwest of London and 30 miles (48 km) north of Southampton. Basingstoke had an estimated population of 80,477 in 2006. The town is part of the borough of Basingstoke and Deane and part of the parliamentary constituency of Basingstoke.
Often mistaken for a new town, Basingstoke market was mentioned in the Domesday Book and it remained a small market town until the 1950s. In the 1960s, as part of a tripartite agreement between London County Council, Hampshire County Council and Basingstoke Borough Council, it was rapidly developed along with Andover and Tadley to accommodate part of the London 'overspill' as perceived under the Greater London Plan, 1944.
Basingstoke remains a town and still has a regular market, but it is now bigger than Hampshire County Council's definition of a market town.
Basingstoke is prosperous, with an above-average standard of living and low unemployment. It is an economic centre, and the location of the UK headquarters of Sun Life Financial of Canada and of the Automobile Association. Other industries include drug manufacture, IT, communications, insurance and electronics.