Kapit town is the administrative centre for Kapit Division, one of the eleven Divisions in the State of Sarawak, Malaysia since 2nd April 1973 when Kapit was declared as a full division.

The town was founded by Rajah Charles Brooke as the last administrative post on the Rajang River to pacify the infighting tribes in the central Rajang. To serve this purpose, a fort, later named as Fort Sylvia, was built in 1880.

Redmond O'Hanlon in his book entitled 'Into the Heart of Borneo' describes his upriver adventure in the 1980s. Hence, Kapit is considered by many travellers as the gateway to 'the heart of Borneo'.

Kapit lies in a mountainous region mostly covered by dense forests. The longest river in Malaysia, the Rajang River, flows through the Division. Kapit is about 126km upriver from Sibu.

Kapit Division has a population of 112,762 people. The Iban is the largest ethnic group (60.5%) followed by Orang Ulu (23.4%), Chinese (5.6%), Malay (3.3%) and Melanau (1.1%). The population in Kapit town itself is about 13,610 people.

The town is small and almost everything is within a walking distance. It is vibrant in the daytime with many rural folks come to the town centre for daily activities.

The rivers are the main mode of transportation as the town is inaccessible by land and air from other towns in Sarawak. Riverine vessels are used to transport people and goods to and from Kapit town.

Logging is the most important economic activity in the Division. Other activities include small farming, coal mining, oil palm plantation and light industry.

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