[1] The regency was originally divided into three districts (kecamatan) — Moro, Kundur and Karimun.

In accordance with Law (Undang-Undang) Nomor 53 of 1999, enacted in Jakarta on 4 October 1999, these three were expanded to nine districts, with the creation of the new districts of Meral, Tebing, Buru, Kundur Utara, Kundur Barat and Durai.

The fourteen districts are tabulated below with their areas and populations at the 2010 [2] and 2020 censuses,[3] together with the official estimates as at mid 2023.

[1] The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages (rural desa and urban kelurahan) and the number of islands within each district, and their postal codes.

(h) the 6 kelurahan are Lubuk Semut, Sungai Lakam Barat, Sungai Lakam Timur, Tanjung Balai, Tanjung Balai Kota and Teluk Air.

Islam is the dominant religion in the regency, with 84.09% of the total population identifying as Muslim.