The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union, becoming the first European country to do so.
The votes are in and the "Leave" campaign has won the Brexit referendum, with nearly 52 percent in favour of quitting the EU.
David Cameron has announced that he will resign as UK Prime Minister and leave by October. He had urged the country to vote "Remain".
UKIP leader Nigel Lafarge declared victory for the Leave campaign saying that June 23 will "go down in our history as our independence day".
Global markets are reeling after the news and the British pound has slumped to a 31-year low following the Brexit vote.
England and Wales voted to leave the EU while Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to remain. Scotland is already hinting at another referendum to leave the UK.
The referendum turnout was nearly 72%, with more than 30 million having voted. Quitting the EU could cost Britain access to the EU's trade barrier-free single market and mean it must seek new trade accords with countries around the world.
It will take at least two years to sort out the historic exit from the 28-country bloc.
European politicians have reacted with shock. "Please tell me I'm still sleeping and this is all just a bad nightmare!" former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb tweeted.
