London (CNN)[Breaking news update at 1158 PM ET ]

The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union, CNN predicts. Results show the Leave campaign has won with more than 51% of the vote.

The United Kingdom stands on the precipice of a historic move to leave the European Union as a neck-and-neck race appears to have turned in favor of a "leave" vote.
ITV News, a CNN affiliate, and the BBC have called the referendum for "Leave" to win. CNN is not yet predicting the result of the once-in-a-generation vote, which could lead to the UK being the first country to leave the European bloc.
Almost 46.5 million people were registered to vote in Thursday's referendum.

Leave.EU and UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who had earlier appeared to concede that the "Remain" vote has "edged it, has said that he now believes his campaign would be victorious.
"I now dare to dream that the dawn is coming up on an independent United Kingdom," he told supporters.
Historian Simon Schama told CNN "I think Leave is going to win this and I think Britain is going to leave the European Union, which obviously I think is a catastrophe.

"We're on a kind of very dangerous knife edge about the integrity and coherence of Europe. So one of those moments, if this result stays and Britain leaves the union, we're entering a very dark and exceptionally dangerous period in European and actually world history, too."
The final, nationwide result is expected to be announced Friday morning.
In one of the most divisive campaigns in recent memory, polls had consistently shown voters split down the middle, with the outcome too close to call, and wavering voters likely to determine the result.

But as results kept coming in overnight, the vote, with 274 of 382 electoral districts reporting, was 51.63% in favor of leaving the EU.
Polls closed at 10 p.m. (5 p.m. ET). As results come in, they will be announced by region. The 12 regions include Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, London and eight English regions. Almost 46.5 million people were registered to take part in the historic vote.
The UK has been a member of the European Union (and its precursors) since 1973.

Markets start freaking out
The pound has dipped precipitously in forex markets as results from more and more election authorities come in, slowly solidifying the "Leave" camp's hold on the referendum.
The pound has dropped below 1.35 against the dollar, the lowest since 1985, according to Kit Juckes, a strategist at Societe Generale.
Early referendum results have sparked a global markets sell-off. London stock futures are trading 7% lower and stock futures in the U.S. are down 2%, CNNMoney reports.
Before the polls closed, markets had been expecting the UK would stay in the EU. But that expectation changed rapidly as results started coming in.
The pound is dropping sharply against all major currencies, and is currently trading at 1.38 against the dollar. Oil is down 4%.
Gold -- one asset investors turn to in the times of uncertainty --- is up 2%.

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