The interior of the county is generally rural; the largest towns are Crawley (118,493) and Horsham (50,934), both located in the north-east; Chichester is in the south-west and has a population of 26,795.

The downs are a chalk escarpment which falls away sharply into the Weald to the north and more gently toward the south, where there is a narrow strip of flat land between the hills and the coast.

The county has a long history of human settlement dating back to the Lower Paleolithic era.

[9] The foundation of the Kingdom of Sussex is recorded by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year AD 477; it says that Ælle arrived at a place called Cymenshore in three ships with his three sons and killed or put to flight the local inhabitants.

The foundation story is regarded as somewhat of a myth by most historians, although the archaeology suggests that Saxons did start to settle in the area in the late 5th century.

In 1974, West Sussex was made a single ceremonial county with the coming into force of the Local Government Act 1972.

There are several more towns in West Sussex, including Arundel, Midhurst, Petworth, Selsey, Steyning, Henfield, Pulborough and Storrington.

Other notable villages include Billingshurst, Copthorne, Crawley Down, Cuckfield, Hassocks, Hurstpierpoint and Lindfield.

The area has been formed from Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous rock strata, part of the Weald–Artois Anticline.

The eastern part of this ridge, the Weald of Kent, Sussex and Surrey has been greatly eroded, with the chalk surface removed to expose older Lower Cretaceous rocks of the Wealden Group.

Erosion of softer sand and clay strata has hollowed out the basin of the Weald leaving a north facing scarp slope of the chalk which runs east and west across the whole county, broken only by the valleys of the River Arun and River Adur.

[18] West Sussex is the sunniest county in the United Kingdom, according to Met Office records.

The A23 and A24 roads run from London to Brighton and Worthing respectively with the A29 a little further west ending in Bognor Regis.

Other major roads are the A272 which runs east to west through the middle of the county and the A27 which does the same but closer to the coast.

The Portsmouth Direct Line serves and occasionally enters the westernmost part of West Sussex, although it has no railway stations in the county.

Since the 2024 general election, West Sussex has been represented by two Conservative, Three Labour and three Liberal Democrat Members of Parliament (MPs).

[24] The Youth Cabinet represents the views of the young people West Sussex at county level.

Elections for the Youth Cabinet and UKYP in West Sussex run every year in March.

Built in French Gothic style and dedicated in 1873 as the Catholic parish church of Arundel, it was not designated a cathedral until the foundation of the diocese in 1965.

Worthing Museum and Art Gallery houses a large collection of Georgian and Victorian costume.

Significant companies in the county include Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a substantial employer near Chichester.

Gatwick Airport, with associated airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, is a major source of direct and indirect employment.

Viticulture is a part of the economy, with wineries producing mainly sparkling wine of varied quality.