The last official census in Bosnia and Herzegovina took place 1991 which recorded 529,021 people living in Sarajevo. The war displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have not returned. A 2006 estimate by the Sarajevo Canton government estimated the city's population at 602,500 people, 87% of the Canton's population. With an area of 493 sq miles, Sarajevo has a population density of about 2173 people per square kilometer. The Novo Sarajevo municipality is the most densely populated part of Sarajevo with about 7524 inhabitants per square kilometer, while the least densely populated is the Stari Grad, with 742 inhabitants per square kilometer.

War changed the ethnic and religious profile of the city. While it had long been known as a multicultural city, or Europe's Jerusalem, Muslims Bosniaks returned to form an even greater proportion of people. In 1991 Bosniaks formed 50% of the population, followed by Eastern Orthodox Serbs with 33%, and Roman Catholic Croats with 7%. However, in 1997 Bosniaks formed 87% of the population, with Serbs at 5% and Croats at 6%. If the East Sarajevo (Republika Srpska) population were to be included (130,000, mostly Serbs), the Bosniaks would still have an absolute majority, followed by Serbs at around 33% of the overall population.

Today, Sarajevo's population is not known clearly and is based of estimates contributed by the United Nations Statistics Division and the Federal Office of Statistics, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina among other national and international non-profit organizations. It is believed that Sarajevo’s population to date has actually increased rather than decreased due to many migrants moving from rural villages destroyed during the Bosnian war.