The UK EU referendum produced a national vote split between 16,141,241 Remain votes and 17,410,742 Leave votes. The Electoral Commission recorded a UK-wide electorate of 46,500,001, turnout of 72.2%, and 25,359 rejected ballots. The figures below show how that result varied across the nations and English regions.
Contents
- National result
- Turnout across the UK
- Nations and the constitutional picture
- English regions that voted Leave
- London and the South East
- Northern and central England
National result
The Electoral Commission results page recorded 46,500,001 people in the UK-wide electorate. Turnout was 72.2%, meaning that participation was measured across a large national electorate rather than a small sample or estimate. The result figures are counted ballots: 16,141,241 votes for Remain and 17,410,742 votes for Leave. There were also 25,359 rejected ballots.
These numbers describe the referendum result itself. The electorate figure is the number registered for the vote, turnout is the reported participation rate, and the Remain and Leave figures are the counted votes for each option. Rejected ballots are listed separately from both choices.
The national figures also provide the reference point for reading the regional results. A region could have high turnout without voting the same way as the UK overall, while a large electorate could produce a substantial vote total even when its participation rate was lower than elsewhere.
Turnout across the UK
Turnout varied among the nations and English regions recorded by the Electoral Commission. The highest reported turnout in this set was 76.8% in the South East, followed closely by 76.7% in the South West. The East recorded 75.7%, while East Midlands turnout was 74.2%.
The West Midlands recorded 72.0%, and Wales recorded 71.7%. North West turnout was 70.0%, while Yorkshire and the Humber recorded 70.7%. London turnout was 69.7%, and the North East recorded 69.3%.
Scotland’s turnout was 67.2%, and Northern Ireland’s was 62.7%. These figures show that participation was not uniform: the reported gap between the highest and lowest figures was visible across the country, with the South East and South West at the top of this list and Northern Ireland at the bottom.
| Area | Electorate | Turnout |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 6,465,404 | 76.8% |
| South West | 4,138,134 | 76.7% |
| East | 4,398,796 | 75.7% |
| East Midlands | 3,384,299 | 74.2% |
| West Midlands | 4,116,572 | 72.0% |
| Wales | 2,270,272 | 71.7% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 3,877,780 | 70.7% |
| North West | 5,241,568 | 70.0% |
| London | 5,424,768 | 69.7% |
| North East | 1,934,341 | 69.3% |
| Scotland | 3,987,112 | 67.2% |
| Northern Ireland | 1,260,955 | 62.7% |
Source for all figures in this table: [Electoral Commission results page] (source label supplied with the referendum results). No estimate or forecast is involved in these reported turnout figures.
Nations and the constitutional picture
Scotland recorded 1,661,191 Remain votes and 1,018,322 Leave votes. Its electorate was 3,987,112, and turnout was 67.2%. Within the figures reported here, Scotland therefore had more counted Remain votes than Leave votes.
Northern Ireland recorded 440,707 Remain votes and 349,442 Leave votes. Its electorate was 1,260,955, and turnout was 62.7%. Like Scotland, Northern Ireland recorded more Remain votes than Leave votes in the supplied Electoral Commission results.
Wales recorded 772,347 Remain votes and 854,572 Leave votes. Its electorate was 2,270,272, with turnout of 71.7%. The Welsh result therefore had more Leave votes than Remain votes, unlike the figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The national-level figures should be kept distinct from the UK-wide result. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are separately reported here, and their electorate and turnout figures describe those individual areas. They are not interchangeable with the UK-wide electorate of 46,500,001 or the UK-wide turnout of 72.2%.
English regions that voted Leave
The East recorded 1,448,616 Remain votes and 1,880,367 Leave votes. Its electorate was 4,398,796 and turnout was 75.7%. East Midlands results were 1,033,036 Remain and 1,475,479 Leave, from an electorate of 3,384,299 with turnout of 74.2%.
The South West recorded 1,503,019 Remain votes and 1,669,711 Leave votes. Its electorate was 4,138,134, and turnout was 76.7%. Wales had a similar direction of result, with 772,347 Remain votes and 854,572 Leave votes, although Wales is reported as a nation rather than an English region.
The West Midlands recorded 1,207,175 Remain votes and 1,755,687 Leave votes. Its electorate was 4,116,572, and turnout was 72.0%. Yorkshire and the Humber recorded 1,158,298 Remain votes and 1,580,937 Leave votes, from an electorate of 3,877,780 with turnout of 70.7%.
These results illustrate why vote totals and turnout answer different questions. The East and South West both had turnout above 75%, while their counted votes still favoured Leave. The West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber also recorded more Leave votes than Remain votes, but their electorates and turnout rates were different.
London and the South East
London recorded 2,263,519 Remain votes and 1,513,232 Leave votes. Its electorate was 5,424,768, the largest electorate among the individual areas listed in this article, and turnout was 69.7%. The London figures therefore show a Remain lead in a large electorate despite turnout being below the UK-wide figure of 72.2%.
The South East recorded 2,391,718 Remain votes and 2,567,965 Leave votes. Its electorate was 6,465,404, and turnout was 76.8%, the highest reported turnout among the areas in the comparison table. The South East had more Leave votes than Remain votes even though its turnout was higher than London’s.
The contrast between the two areas is useful when reading referendum statistics. London’s counted Remain total was higher than its Leave total, while the South East’s counted Leave total was higher than its Remain total. At the same time, the South East electorate was larger and its reported turnout was higher.
Northern and central England
The North East recorded 562,595 Remain votes and 778,103 Leave votes. Its electorate was 1,934,341 and turnout was 69.3%. The North West recorded 1,699,020 Remain votes and 1,966,925 Leave votes. Its electorate was 5,241,568, with turnout of 70.0%.
The East Midlands recorded 1,033,036 Remain votes and 1,475,479 Leave votes, from an electorate of 3,384,299 and turnout of 74.2%. The West Midlands recorded 1,207,175 Remain votes and 1,755,687 Leave votes, from an electorate of 4,116,572 and turnout of 72.0%.
Yorkshire and the Humber recorded 1,158,298 Remain votes and 1,580,937 Leave votes. Its electorate was 3,877,780 and turnout was 70.7%. Across these five English regions, the reported Leave total was higher than the reported Remain total in each area.
The regional figures should not be read as forecasts of later political outcomes. They are historical referendum counts tied to the measurement period of the referendum results. The Electoral Commission results page is the named source for the electorate, turnout and vote totals reported throughout this breakdown.
Reading the figures accurately
Several distinctions matter when comparing the results. The electorate is a count of registered voters for the relevant area; it is not the same as the number of votes cast. Turnout is a percentage for that area, while Remain and Leave are absolute counted vote totals. A high turnout rate does not automatically identify which option received more votes.
Geography matters as well. London, the North East and the South East are English regions. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are reported separately as nations or constituent parts of the UK. Their figures should therefore be compared using the area names and definitions shown by the Electoral Commission rather than treating every label as the same kind of geography.
Finally, the UK-wide figures remain the broadest summary: a 46,500,001 electorate, 72.2% turnout, 16,141,241 Remain votes, 17,410,742 Leave votes and 25,359 rejected ballots. The area-level figures explain how that national result was distributed across the reported parts of the UK.