It covers south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and the present bishop, the Right Reverend Dr Kenneth Stevenson is the eighth. The knock on effects of the decline in the naval dockyards in Gosport and Portsmouth are being offset by the concentration of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth as its principal port. Whereas the dockyards used to build and maintain the ships, the ports simply house them. The importance of the Royal Navy in the community remains considerable. There is steady growth in commercial shipping, including continental ferries.
Tourism is also an important factor in the area's economy.