United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?
Location	United Kingdom Gibraltar
Date	23 June 2016
Results Votes  % Leave 17,410,742 7001518900000000000♠51.89% Remain 16,141,241 7001481100000000000♠48.11% Valid votes 33,551,983 7001999200000000000♠99.92% Invalid or blank votes 25,359 6998800000000000000♠0.08% Total votes 33,577,342 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 46,500,001 7001722109999999999♠72.21%
Results by voting areas   Leave —   Remain
On the map, the darker shades for a colour indicate a larger margin.

The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, also known as the EU referendum and the "Brexit" referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to gauge support for the country either remaining a member of, or leaving, the European Union (EU). The non-binding referendum resulted in 51.9% of voters voting in favour of leaving the European Union, on a national turnout of 72%, the highest ever for a UK-wide referendum and the highest for any national vote since the 1992 General Election. In the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, a majority in England and Wales voted in favour of leaving the European Union, and a majority in Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain. The British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar also voted to remain.

To start the process to leave the EU ("Brexit"), which is expected to take several years, the UK government will have to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. The UK government has announced that it intends to start this formal process by March 2017, which would put the country on course to complete the withdrawal process by March 2019.

Membership of the EU and its predecessors had long been a topic of debate in the United Kingdom. The country joined what were then the three European Communities, principally the European Economic Community (EEC, or "Common Market"), in 1973. A referendum on continued membership of the European Communities was held in 1975, and it was approved by 67% of voters. In accordance with a Conservative Party manifesto commitment, the legal basis for a referendum on EU membership was established by the UK Parliament through the European Union Referendum Act 2015.