The administrative divisions of Brunei mainly consist of ''daerah'' (

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

s), ''mukim'' (

subdistrict A subdistrict or sub-district is an administrative division that is generally smaller than a district. Equivalents * Administrative posts of East Timor, formerly Portuguese-language * Kelurahan, in Indonesia * Mukim, a township in Brunei, In ...

s) and ''kampung'' or ''kampong'' (

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s). They are organised hierarchically, with ''daerah'' being the first level and ''kampong'' the third level. There are also a few municipal divisions:

Bandar Seri Begawan Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB; Jawi: بندر سري بڬاوان; ) is the capital city of Brunei. It is officially a municipal area () with an area of and an estimated population of 100,700 as of 2007. It is part of Brunei-Muara District, the sm ...

and a few district towns. They are considered to be outside the hierarchy of the main administrative division. All the administrative divisions are under direct governance of the government through the Ministry of Home Affairs. Generally, the administrative divisions serve for population census. The administrative areas have limited to no autonomy, and is more pronounced towards the lowest administrative level. The major socio-political aspects such as education and law are centralised and managed through separate government ministries or departments.

Districts

There are four districts in Brunei:

Brunei-Muara Brunei-Muara District ( ms, Daerah Brunei dan Muara; Jawi: برونائی-موارا ضلع) or simply Brunei-Muara is one of the four districts of Brunei. It has the smallest area among the four districts, with , yet is the most populous, wi ...

, Belait, Tutong and

Temburong Temburong District ( ms, Daerah Temburong; Jawi: دائيره تمبوروڠ) or simply Temburong () is the easternmost district in Brunei. It is an exclave — the land is separated from the rest of the country by Malaysia and Brunei Bay, and ...

. Brunei-Muara is the smallest district but has the most population. Belait is the largest district and the centre for the production of oil and gas. A district is headed by a ''Pegawai Daerah'' or District Officer and assisted by an Assistant District Officer.

Mukims

The administrative level of ''mukim'' lies below the district. At present, there are 38 mukims, with 17 in Brunei-Muara, 8 in Tutong, 8 in Belait and 5 in Temburong District. A ''mukim'' is headed by a ''penghulu.''

Villages

A village ( or ') is the lowest administrative level in Brunei and headed by a ''ketua kampong'' or

village head A village head, village headman or village chief is the community leader of a village or a small town. Usage Brunei In Brunei, village head is called or in the Malay language. It is an administrative post which leads the community of a v ...

. Its population varies from a few hundreds to units of thousands.

Kampong Ayer Kampong Ayer is a prominent traditional settlement in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei. It comprises neighbourhoods of traditional houses, schools and mosques built on stilts above the Brunei River near the capital's city centre. It ha ...

is not considered a ''kampong'' administrative division. It is simply a common term in referring to the whole of the cluster of settlements on the Brunei River. However, Kampong Ayer is a large area which consists of a few ''mukim'' and a number of ''kampong''.

Municipalities

There are four areas of population which are considered to be ''bandaran'' or municipality, namely: *

, the country's capital; also the capital of Brunei-Muara District; *

Kuala Belait Kuala Belait (KB; Jawi: ) is the administrative town of Belait District, Brunei. The population of the town proper was 4,259 in 2016. Kuala Belait is officially a municipal area (), as well as a village under the mukim of the same name. The t ...

, the administrative town for Belait District; *

Seria Seria () is a town in Belait District, Brunei, about west from the country's capital Bandar Seri Begawan. The total population was 3,625 in 2016. It was where oil was first struck in Brunei in 1929 and has since become a centre for the countr ...

, a town in Belait District; and * Tutong, the administrative town for Tutong District. The municipalities are considered outside the hierarchy of the main administrative division, as their spatial jurisdiction do not necessarily fit to any of the levels, as well as their sizes are not consistent — Bandar Seri Begawan comprises several mukims but other towns comprise only a few villages. Also, the municipalities are governed under different departments from that which administer the districts and their subdivisions, although still within the same ministry. The municipalities are headed by ''Pengerusi Lembaga Bandaran'' or Town Board Chairman. While Bangar is the focal town of Temburong, it is yet to have a municipal status. Although the official name for Bangar is (literally translates as 'Bangar Town'), it is a village subdivision. Similarly, Muara () is a port town in Brunei-Muara District but it is also administered as a village under the mukim of

Serasa Kampong Serasa is a village in Brunei-Muara District, Brunei, near the port town Muara. The population was 3,200 in 2016. It is home to Serasa Ferry Terminal, the country's primary international ferry terminal. Geography Kampong Serasa is l ...

References

{{Asia topic, Administrative divisions of Brunei