Belait District (Daerah Belait; Jawi: دأيره بلأيت), or simply Belait (bəlait), is the largest as well as the westernmost district in Brunei. It has an area of and the population of 69,062 as of 2016. The administrative town is Kuala Belait, located at the mouth of the Belait River. The district is commonly associated with the oil and gas industry of the country, mainly concentrated near the town of Seria.
Belait District is named after the Belait people, the main native inhabitants which traditionally settled near the mouth of the Belait River.
The district borders the South China Sea to the north, the Bruneian district of Tutong to the east and the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the south and west.
The district covers , which is about half the area of the entire nation. The landscape of the district varies from the peat swamps and lowland forests near the coast to the montane rainforest in the interior parts of the district. The Belait Swamp Forest has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area.
The Belait River flows through Belait and it is the longest river in Brunei. The Belait River, together with its tributaries drains the district – the Belait district roughly corresponds to the drainage basin of the Belait River.
Districts of Brunei#Administration
The district is administered by the Belait District Office (Jabatan Daerah Belait), a government department under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The district is subdivided into 8 mukims, namely:
Mukim Bukit Sawat
Mukim Kuala Balai
Mukim Kuala Belait
Mukim Labi
Mukim Liang
Mukim Melilas
Mukim Seria
Mukim Sukang
These are further subdivided into 83 Kampongs (Villages).
According to the Constitution, the district is to be represented in the Legislative Council, the state legislature, by up to 3 members. As of 2017, two members have been appointed to represent the district in the legislature.
Demographics of Brunei
Belait District is the second most populous district in Brunei. According to the 2016 census update, the population was 69,062 and made up about 16.