Municipality Šmarje pri Jelšah, which is part of the Savinjska statistical region, measures 108 km2; this ranks it 62nd among Slovene municipalities.
Statistical data for 2023 reveal the following:
In the middle of 2023 about 10,540 people (about 5,310 men and 5,240 women) were living in the municipality, which ranks Šmarje pri Jelšah 53rd among Slovene municipalities. The population density was 98 people per square kilometre, which was lower than the national average of 105 people per square kilometre.
The number of live births was lower than the number of deaths, which means that natural increase per 1,000 population in the municipality was negative. It was –0.9 (in Slovenia –2.1). The number of people who moved from the municipality was lower than the number of people who moved into the municipality, so net migration per 1,000 population in the municipality was positive. It was 7.1. The sum of natural increase and net migration per 1,000 population in the municipality was positive. It was 6.2 (in Slovenia 3.3).
The mean age of people in Šmarje pri Jelšah was 43.7 years, which was lower than the national average (44.1).
As in most Slovene municipalities, in Šmarje pri Jelšah the number of old people was higher than the number of young people: there were 130 people, aged 65 or more, per 100 people aged 0–14. This ratio shows that the value of the ageing index was lower than the national average of 145. It also shows that the mean age of people in Šmarje pri Jelšah is growing more slowly than in Slovenia as a whole. Data by sex show that the ageing index for women was in all municipalities except in six (Črna na Koroškem, Dobrovnik/Dobronak, Grad, Hodoš/Hodos, Jezersko in Mislinja) higher than the ageing index for men. In Šmarje pri Jelšah – as in most Slovene municipalities – more women were 65+ years old than 14 or less; for men the situation was the same.
Šmarje pri Jelšah had 8 kindergartens, which were attended by 418 children. Of all children in the municipality aged 1–5, 84% were included in kindergartens, which was more than the national average of 83%. In the school year 2023/24 elementary schools in Šmarje pri Jelšah were attended by about 970 pupils, while various upper secondary schools were attended by about 440 pupils. There were 42 students and 8 graduates per 1,000 people in the municipality; in Slovenia the averages were 38 per 1,000 and 8 per 1,000, respectively.
Among people aged 15–64 (i.e. working age population) about 71% were persons in employment (i.e. persons in paid employment or self–employed persons), which is more than the national average (69%).
In Šmarje pri Jelšah, average monthly gross earnings per person employed by legal persons were about 7% lower than the annual average of monthly earnings for Slovenia; net earnings were about 6% lower.
Among 1,000 inhabitants in the municipality, 611 had a passenger car. The car was on average 12 years old.
In 2023, 270 kg of municipal waste per person was collected in Šmarje pri Jelšah, which is 108 kg less than on average in Slovenia.