EU chiefs call for quick start to Brexit negotiations

For the first time in the history of European integration, a member state has decided to leave the bloc. European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker said the decision would be respected. The remaining 27 member states in the Union would continue and stood ready to start negotiations on the exit procedure, Juncker said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the outcome a "watershed event for Europe and European integration."

Here's some background information:

-British PM David Cameron said his Conservative Party should aim to have a new prime minister in place by October to implement the decision.

-Seventy-two percent of eligible voters turned out to cast their ballot. Of votes cast, 52 percent went to ‘Leave,’ and 48 percent to ‘Remain.’ Remain votes came primarily from Scotland, Northern Ireland and London.

-The leader of the Scottish National Party, Nicola Sturgeon, has said a new Scottish referendum on independence was "highly likely."

-A majority of people aged 65+ voted for ‘Leave,’ while more than 60 percent of those aged 18-24 voted for Britain to remain in the EU.

-Global markets plummeted on Friday, and saw the pound falling by as much as ten percent against the US dollar. The International Monetary Fund's Christine Lagarde called for the EU and the UK to "work collaboratively" towards a smooth transition of their economic relationship. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index closed the day down just 3.2 percent, while the stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Paris slumped by 6.2 and 8 percent, respectively.

Our liveblog below has brought you coverage by DW’s correspondents in London, Brussels and Berlin, as well as reactions on social media.