Zele (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈzeːlə]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders, around 20 km east of Ghent. The municipality only comprises the town of Zele proper. On January 1, 2011, Zele had a total population of 20,763. The total area is 33.06 km² which gives a population density of 628 inhabitants per km².