People react as they gather at Plaza Catalunya after voting ended for the banned independence referendum, in Barcelona, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Susana Vera

MADRID (Reuters) - The Catalan government said around 2.26 million people had cast a ballot in a banned referendum to leave Spain on Sunday and 90 percent of them had voted in favor of secession.

This represents a turnout of around 42.3 percent of Catalonia’s 5.34 million voters.