Brunei Darussalam is a Southeast Asian country located on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. The country covers a total land area of approximately 5,765 square kilometers.
Administratively, Brunei Darussalam is divided into only four districts. The four districts are the Brunei-Muara, Belait, Tutong, and Temburong Districts.
Unlike the state or provincial systems found in other countries, the districts serve as the highest level of administrative division in Brunei. Each district is managed by a local government office known as the District Office, headed by a District Officer. The institution operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs to oversee administration and public services within its jurisdiction.
Brunei-Muara District
Brunei-Muara District is located at the northernmost tip of Brunei Darussalam. The district covers an area of approximately 570 square kilometers. It is the smallest district by land area in the country.
According to 2025 data from the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (DEPS), Brunei-Muara is inhabited by 332,700 people, which accounts for about 72.5 percent of the nation's total population.
Despite being the smallest in area, Brunei-Muara serves as the primary region in Brunei as it houses the national capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. The entire national government center, ministry offices, and the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei at Istana Nurul Iman are concentrated in the capital city.
In addition to serving as the administrative center, the district acts as the hub for economic and business activities, as well as the main gateway for international transport. Brunei-Muara District is home to Brunei International Airport and Muara Port.
Belait District
In the western part of Brunei Darussalam lies Belait District. With a total area of around 2,727 square kilometers, Belait is the largest district in Brunei. Based on 2025 DEPS data, the population of Belait District stands at 67,900 inhabitants.
Belait District is widely recognized as the center of Brunei's oil and natural gas industry. The main administrative and residential center is located in Kuala Belait.
Its energy industry operations are concentrated across two primary areas. The Seria area has served as the hub for onshore crude oil extraction in Brunei since the discovery of its first commercial reserves in 1929.
Meanwhile, the Lumut area manages the liquefied natural gas processing facility (Brunei LNG), which constitutes the largest LNG site in Brunei that covers an area of 130 hectares.
Tutong District
Situated between Brunei-Muara and Belait Districts is Tutong District. The district covers an area of approximately 1,166 square kilometers. According to 2025 DEPS data, the population of Tutong District reaches 48,500 people.
The district administrative center is located in Pekan Tutong. Much of Tutong District consists of farms, rivers, and natural greenery. Indigenous groups such as the Tutong and Dusun have long lived in the area
Within the district lies Tasek Merimbun, a natural lake covering approximately 120 hectares surrounded by peat swamp ecosystems. Beyond being designated as Brunei's first national park, the lake area was officially named an ASEAN Heritage Park in 1984.
Temburong District
Temburong District is situated in eastern Brunei Darussalam, with a total area of around 1,306 square kilometers. The district has a total population of around 9,500 residents according to 2025 DEPS data.
The district administrative center is located in Bangar. Temburong is widely known as Brunei's nature conservation center, as most of its land consists of protected lowland rainforests. The district is home to Ulu Temburong National Park, a 550-square-kilometer reserve that officially opened in 1991.
Temburong is a geographical exclave, which means its landmass is physically separated from the other three districts by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. Because of the geographic isolation, travel between Temburong and the main capital area historically required crossing Malaysian territory or taking a boat across the bay.
To solve the geographic divide, Brunei opened the 30-kilometer Sultan Haji Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Bridge on March 17, 2020. The bridge directly connects Temburong to Brunei-Muara District, which allows travel between the two regions without going through Malaysian border checkpoints.
