Brexit by the numbers: Who voted to leave the EU?

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After more than 33 million votes were cast and tallied into the early hours of Friday morning, the results are official: Britain has voted to leave the European Union.

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Percentage-wise, the vote was close: 52 per cent voted to leave, while 48 per cent voted to remain a member of the union. The four-per-cent margin, though, does equate to more than one million voters.

Turnout was also up for this referendum (72.2%) compared to the 2015 general election (66.1%).

By country

Overall, voters in Scotland and Northern Ireland were in favour of staying, while the majority of those in England and Wales voted to leave the EU.

Even though the English and Welsh “leave” votes were closer to parity than the Scottish and Northern Irish “remain” votes, the comparatively large population of England translated into an overall victory for the “leave” side.

England’s population of 53 million overwhelms the rest of the nations in the United Kingdom, which have just 10 million between the three of them.

The map below shows the geographic divide between regions, with Scotland and Northern Ireland voting unanimously to remain in the union.

By other demographics

There were some clear trends in the way different demographics voted. Younger voters overwhelmingly supported staying in the union, while older voters leaned toward an exit.

Voters were also polled by their political leanings. When asked how they voted in the 2015 general election, supporters of the more right-leaning UKIP and Conservative Party supported leaving the EU, while left-wing Labour Party and Liberal Democrat supporters tended to cast their ballots in favour of staying.

In terms of education, those with their General Certificate of Secondary Education – roughly equivalent to Canadian high school – tended to support leaving the EU, while those who had completed a post-secondary degree strongly favoured staying.

Those who had taken their A-Levels – a post-secondary but pre-university level of education – were split.