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Municipality · NIS 42028 · closed 24/04/2026

Zele

Compare 2 places: Zele and…

1 311provisional

+0,6 % in 2025 compared with 2024 (1 303)

2025: first publication (closed 24/04/2026), provisional figures. Late reports are added in later bulletins, which revise the figures upwards. The 2025/2024 change may therefore overstate the fall. Learn more

60,92 offences per 1,000 inhab. in 2025 (pop. 21 521 on 1/1/2025)

Source: Oost_Vlaanderen_Zele_fr.pdf · 123 pages

PNG image to share yourself (key figures, mayor, sources); it is not published on the site. The text in the image is in French.

Local executive

  • Mayor: Hans Knop

    List: cd&v · Party / affiliation: not provided

    Since 03/12/2024 · In office on 08/10/2026 · source (official source)

  • Majority (lists on the executive): cd&v / ZeleAnders / Vooruit

    Derived from the lists of the executive members · In office on 08/10/2026 · source (official source)

Next elections: municipal and provincial elections: 13/10/2030 · regional, federal and European elections: 2029.

Profile

Official sources (Statbel), edition shown on each line.

Population on 1 January 2026
21 587

Statbel, 1/1/2026

Foreign nationals (non-Belgian nationality)
11,3 %2 433 out of 21 587
2010 : 4,2 % · 2026 : 11,3 %The vertical axis does not start at 0.
Annual series
1 JanuaryForeign nationalsShare
20108564,2 %
20119844,7 %
20121 0555,1 %
20131 1445,5 %
20141 1775,7 %
20151 3126,3 %
20161 3546,5 %
20171 5077,2 %
20181 6347,8 %
20191 7488,3 %
20201 9229,0 %
20211 9549,2 %
20222 0889,8 %
20232 16410,1 %
20242 33710,9 %
20252 39911,1 %
20262 43311,3 %

Statbel, 1/1/2026, series 2010-2026

Non-Belgians by group of nationality of origin
  • Neighbouring countries*1,0 %(210)
  • EU27 excluding neighbouring countries4,7 %(1 006)
  • Non-EU275,6 %(1 217)

* Germany, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom (Statbel grouping).

Statbel, 1/1/2026, share of the population

Origin (indicator separate from nationality)
  • Belgians of Belgian origin69,3 %(14 965)
  • Belgians of foreign origin19,4 %(4 189)
  • Non-Belgians11,3 %(2 433)

Statbel, 1/1/2026

Age
  • 0-17 years19,8 %(4 272)
  • 18-64 years59,4 %(12 831)
  • 65 and over20,8 %(4 484)

Statbel, 1/1/2026

Area and density

33,3 km² · 647 inhab./km²

Statbel, 1/1/2025

Median income per tax return

31 142 €total net taxable income, 12 498 returns

Statbel, income 2023

Definitions
  • « Foreign national » = person with a non-Belgian nationality in the national register, on 1 January. Naturalised Belgians or Belgians of foreign origin are counted as Belgians.
  • Origin (Statbel): based on current nationality, the person's first registered nationality and that of their parents. Official categories: Belgian of Belgian origin, Belgian of foreign origin, non-Belgian.
  • Group of nationality of origin: Statbel grouping into neighbouring countries, EU27 excluding neighbouring countries, and non-EU27; this is not a strict EU / non-EU split (the United Kingdom is classed as a neighbouring country).
  • Merged or renumbered municipalities: no reconstructed series before the date of the new code (same rule as for the reference population).
  • These figures are not cross-referenced with any crime statistics.

Elections

  • Valid votes: 10,822
  • Registered: 15,412 · turnout 70.6 %
  • Blank and void: 57 (0.5 % of ballots)
ListVotes%Seats
cd&v3,59533.2 %11
ZeleAnders1,56214.4 %4
N-VA1,36312.6 %3
Leefbaarder Zele1,26311.7 %3
Lokaal Alternatief1,18010.9 %3
VLAAMS BELANG1,17210.8 %2
Vooruit6876.3 %1

Source: Vlaanderen kiest (Flemish Home Affairs agency), official results (local elections of 13/10/2024). Local lists, under the filed name, not linked to any party. National view

Main categories

Click a category to open the annual series (2000, 2015-2025; 2025 provisional).

Category2025prov.Change 2025/20242000
1 311+0,6 %1 290
231-8,0 %565
153+21,4 %116
1250,0 %170
112+38,3 %4
98+6,5 %-
94+20,5 %42
92-3,2 %23
77-8,3 %91
64+14,3 %55
44-17,0 %-
44+4,8 %12
35+16,7 %12
34+17,2 %12
31+40,9 %14
31-50,0 %5
30-37,5 %50
17+13,3 %6
13-31,6 %18
12-20,0 %42
4-63,6 %2
2-5
2-50,0 %14
2-33,3 %-
2-66,7 %2
2-1
10,0 %1
10,0 %1
1-80,0 %-
1-6
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Change 2025/2024: change in 2025 compared with 2024 (e.g. −10 % = 2025 is 10 % lower than 2024, not the reverse).

2025 provisional: first publication. Reports registered late are added in later bulletins, which revise the figures upwards, so the 2025/2024 fall may be overstated.

Source of figures: police crime statistics bulletin, Q4 2025 (closed 24/04/2026). Click a category to show the full available annual series.

Documented perimeters

2 documented perimeters for this municipality (separate regional instruments; no federal list).

View on the Priority neighbourhoods page