Ranst is a municipality in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Broechem (townhall), Emblem, Oelegem, and Ranst (postoffice) proper. On January 1, 2006, Ranst had a total population of 17,827. The total area is 43.58sqkm, which gives a population density of 409PD/sqkm.