DHAKA: Scotland has voted to stay in the United Kingdom after voters decisively rejected independence.

With 31 out of the country's 32 council areas having declared after Thursday's vote, the 'No' side has an unassailable lead of 1,914,187 votes to 1,539,920.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said he accepted the result and called for unity and the unionist parties to deliver on their pledge of more powers.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron is due to give his reaction shortly.

The result became a mathematical certainty at 06:08, as the returning officer in Fife announced a comfortable No vote.

Shortly afterwards, Salmond said he accepted the defeat and called for national unity, reports BBC.

He said the referendum and the high turnout had been a "triumph for the democratic process" and promised to keep his pledge in the Edinburgh Agreement which paved the way for the referendum to respect the result and work for the benefit of Scotland and the United Kingdom.

The question for voters was "Should Scotland be an independent country?" and they were asked to mark either "Yes" or "No".

BDST: 1157 HRS, SEP 19, 2014