Municipality Žalec, which is part of the Savinjska statistical region, measures 117 km2; this ranks it 54th among Slovene municipalities.
Statistical data for 2023 reveal the following:
In the middle of 2023 about 21,710 people (about 11,000 men and 10,710 women) were living in the municipality, which ranks Žalec 18th among Slovene municipalities. The population density was 185 people per square kilometre, which was higher 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 –0.8 (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 6.4. The sum of natural increase and net migration per 1,000 population in the municipality was positive. It was 5.6 (in Slovenia 3.3).
The mean age of people in Žalec was 44.7 years, which was higher than the national average (44.1).
As in most Slovene municipalities, in Žalec the number of old people was higher than the number of young people: there were 156 people, aged 65 or more, per 100 people aged 0–14. This ratio shows that the value of the ageing index was higher than the national average of 145. It also shows that the mean age of people in Žalec is growing more rapidly 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 Žalec – as in most Slovene municipalities – more women were 65+ years old than 14 or less; for men the situation was the same.
Žalec had 13 kindergartens, which were attended by 790 children. Of all children in the municipality aged 1–5, 82% were included in kindergartens, which was less than the national average of 83%. In the school year 2023/24 elementary schools in Žalec were attended by about 2,160 pupils, while various upper secondary schools were attended by about 850 pupils. There were 35 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 70% were persons in employment (i.e. persons in paid employment or self–employed persons), which is more than the national average (69%).
In Žalec, average monthly gross earnings per person employed by legal persons were about 9% lower than the annual average of monthly earnings for Slovenia; net earnings were about 8% lower.
Among 1,000 inhabitants in the municipality, 599 had a passenger car. The car was on average 11 years old.
In 2023, 488 kg of municipal waste per person was collected in Žalec, which is 110 kg more than on average in Slovenia.