Historical population of Sarajevo

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Historically Sarajevo had always been a very populous city, but as the Ottoman Empire declined, so did its population. Although it had around 100,000 people in the 1660s, by the end of World War II in the 1940s Sarajevo had only grown to some 115,000 people.

The population of the district of Sarajevo according to the 1921 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes religious population census:

The population of the district of Sarajevo according to the 1921 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes religious population census:

In 1921 there were 8 municipalities and their populations were:

The same year the City of Sarajevo had 78,173 inhabitants:

Heavy industrialization and increased importance in regional affairs during the time of Yugoslavia resulted in a rapid increase however, and by the time of the 1984 Olympics the greater Sarajevo area had more than 500,000 residents. Although exact ethnic distribution is unknown, of these 500,000, 49% were Muslim, 30% Orthodox Christians, and 7% Catholics, indicating relatively corresponding percentages of Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats.

The Yugoslav wars and the resulting siege of Sarajevo radically disrupted this order of things. The city was completely surrounded by Bosnian Serb forces, and it has been estimated that some 12,000 people were killed, with another 50,000 wounded. Combined with horrific living conditions forced upon by the besieging forces, the result was thousands of refugees leaving the city. By 1996, Sarajevo had less than 300,000 residents. In the years that followed, a tremendous influx of returning refugees and people from a war-torn countryside has resulted in the city population once again going above 300,000 residents.

The following are some recorded populations of Sarajevo throughout its history. The figures from 1626 and 1660 are based on the accounts of traveling writers who estimated that Sarajevo at the time had 20,000 houses, and figures an average of 5 people per house. All latter figures are based on official censuses by Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and Socialist Yugoslavia, except for 2002 which is an estimate by the Sarajevo Canton government. All figures after 1945 represent the greater Sarajevo area.

Year Population
1626 more than 60,000
1660 more than 100,000
1910 51,919
1921 66,317
1931 78,173
1945 115,000
1971 359,448
1991 527,049
2002 401,118