http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29263022
19 September 2014 Last updated at 01:05
Scottish independence: First referendum results declared
BBC One: Scottish independence referendum results programme
The first results are coming in for the referendum to decide whether Scotland should stay in the UK or become an independent country.
Clackmannanshire was the earliest to declare, with "No" winning 19,036 votes and "Yes" on 16,350 on an 89% turnout.
Counting will be carried out through the night, with individual resultsannounced for each of Scotland's 32 local authority areas.
The final national result is expected after 06:30 BST (05:30 GMT) on Friday.
Orkney was the second area to announce its result, with "No" winning 10,004 votes compared with 4,883 for "Yes" on a turnout of 83.7%.
Polling expert Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University said the Clackmannanshire result would be a "considerable disappointment" to the "Yes" side, who would have hoped to have done better in what is Scotland's smallest mainland local authority.
A YouGov on-the-day survey published shortly after polls closed suggested "No" was on 54% and "Yes" on 46%.
The survey questioned 1,828 people after they voted, together with the postal votes of 800 people, although it is not a traditional exit poll.
YouGov said its responses suggested there had been a small shift from "Yes" to "No" on polling day, and also that "No" supporters were slightly more likely to turn out to vote.
A "Yes" vote in the ballot would end the 307-year-old union between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond tweeted: "This has been a remarkable day. Scotland's future truly is in Scotland's hands",
In other developments:
- Police are investigating allegations of electoral fraud relating to 10 ballot papers in Glasgow
- The Queen is expected to make a written statement on Friday afternoon, after the result has been confirmed
- Prime Minister David Cameron expected to respond to Scotland's decision in a live televised address following the final result
- The count in Dundee was briefly suspended due to a fire alarm
- For latest results and full coverage, go to bbc.co.uk/scotland-decides
The evidence from throughout Scotland is of a large, indeed a phenomenal, turnout. A series of questions arise from that.
One, will this benefit one side or the other? That depends upon differential turnout. Is one side or the other feeling more motivated, more inclined to participate?
It had been thought that the more motivated side would be Yes. It had been thought this could be worth one or two per cent in the final tally.
However, at these huge levels of interest, that may be open to challenge. It seems that the entirety of Scotland is engaged. We shall see.
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SNP MSP Humza Yousaf conceded that the "Yes" campaign were the "underdogs" in the referendum, but said they relished that status.
Responding to the YouGov poll, he told the BBC: "We've had one poll, but it's not an exit poll and it certainly won't take into account the high levels of turnout that we're seeing and hearing about across the country."
Labour shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said the story of the early part of the evening was the "enormous turnout".
"We should all feel both extraordinary pride and a certain humility when it comes to a turnout of this scale because it is literally unprecedented," he said.
"Predictions at this stage need to be taken with a barrel of salt not just a punch of salt."
As soon as Scotland's 2,608 polling places closed, work began to transport hundreds of ballot boxes to counting centres in each of Scotland's 32 local authorities.
These will include votes cast from the 789,024 postal vote applications, which was the largest volume of registration for postal votes ever in Scotland.
The bulk of the local results are expected to come between 03:00 and 05:00 BST (02:00 and 04:00 GMT) on Friday.
And, for the first time, 16 and 17-year-olds all across Scotland were able to vote.
Postal ballots
Once the results from all the local authority areas are known, chief counting officer Mary Pitcaithly will declare the result of the referendum at the Royal Highland Centre outside Edinburgh.
However, running totals - which can be made from the first declaration onwards - may indicate a result earlier in the morning.
Many councils have reported busy polling stations throughout Thursday, with some seeing queues both ahead of the polls opening and throughout the morning.
East Dunbartonshire has recorded the highest turnout so far, at 91%, with East Renfrewshire and Stirling slightly behind on 90.5% and 90.1% respectively.
But turnout in Glasgow was lower, at 75%, while in Dundee it was 78.8% and Aberdeen 81.7%.
Large numbers of independence supporters have gathered in George Square, in the centre of Glasgow, ahead of the result.
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who led the pro-independence "Yes" campaign, cast his ballot at Ritchie Hall in Strichen, Aberdeenshire.
Pro-Union Better Together leader Alistair Darling was greeted by a mixture of cheers and boos as he arrived at the Church Hill Theatre in Edinburgh to cast his vote.
The BBC's Scotland Decides will bring continuous, up-to-date coverage all through the night, as well as comprehensive analysis. On Twitter, keep abreast of all the action overnight via @BBCPolitics and@BBCScotlandNews.
A Scotland Decides programme presented by Huw Edwards will be broadcast on BBC One from 22:35 BST, while Scotland Decides The Result will be broadcast on BBC One Scotland.
Or follow the results on BBC Radio 4's Scotland Decides programmepresented by James Naughtie and Rachel Burden. BBC Radio Scotlandwill also provide live coverage from 22:00 BST until 06:00 BST.
You can also watch and listen to all the live television and radio coverage on the BBC News website.
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