Beaufort is the capital of the Beaufort District in the Interior Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It was named after former British Governor Leicester Paul Beaufort. Its population was estimated to be around 12,742 in 2010. It is about 90 kilometres south of Kota Kinabalu and about 167 kilometres north of Long Pasia. It has shophouses built high above the roads to avoid the periodic floods of the Padas River. The population of Beaufort is composed mainly of Bisaya, Brunei Malays, Kadazan-Dusuns, Lun Bawang/Lun Dayeh, Muruts and Chinese. Bisaya are the majority ethnic, and the population is scattered around the town. Like other towns in Sabah such as Kota Kinabalu city, Tawau, Papar, Kudat and Tenom, Beaufort was one of the major initial Hakka population centres in Sabah and still has a large Hakka minority.