Polls before the referendum U.K. citizens were split by age and gender when it came to polling ahead of the referendum on EU membership. A moving average ( ) of the six most recent polls ( ) showed a small difference between leave and remain.

Voters were split by age Younger people tended to support staying in the EU, while older people tended to favor leaving.

Legend Remain Leave Don't know / Wouldn't vote 18-24 years old 60% 19% 20% 25-49 45% 17% 39% 50-64 42% 10% 48% 65 and older 34% 60%

Laborers favored leaving Managers tended to back continued EU membership, while the opposite was true of laborers. (Laborers included retirees and widows.)

Legend Remain Leave Don't know / Wouldn't vote Managers 53% 11% 36% Laborers 31% 17% 52%

More women were undecided Men were more likely to be in favor of remaining, but more women said they hadn't decided which way to vote.

Legend Remain Leave Don't know / Wouldn't vote Male 46% 10% 43% Female 41% 16% 43%

There were regional differences Support for remaining was notably higher in London and Scotland than in the rest of the U.K.

Legend Remain Leave Don't know / Wouldn't vote London 51% 10% 39% Rest of South 41% 12% 47% Midlands / Wales 43% 14% 43% North 39% 16% 45% Scotland 55% 13% 33%

Opinions differed by party Those who voted for the ruling Conservative Party in the 2015 general election were more likely to vote “leave,” and the opposite was true for those who voted for the opposition Labour Party. Supporters of the UK Independence Party were overwhelmingly in favor of leaving.

Legend Remain Leave Don't know / Wouldn't vote Conservatives 38% 55% Labour 63% 11% 26% Liberal Democrats 70% 23% UKIP 91%

Voters feared for the economy More people thought leaving the EU would damage the U.K. economy than benefit it.

Legend Benefit No real difference Damage Don’t know 22% 19% 45% 15%

Most expected less immigration A majority of people thought leaving the EU would lead to lower levels of immigration into the U.K.