In a historic referendum to decide whether Scotland should become independent from the United Kingdom, majority of voters polled against it.
In a vote that saw an unprecedented turnout Thursday, the campaign in favor of Scotland remaining in the UK, "Better Together", received 2,001,926 votes, or 55 percent.
The campaign in favor of Scottish independence, called "Yes Scotland", had the support of 1,617,989, or 45 percent of voters.
The winning total needed was 1,852,828 votes, and the margin of victory is three points higher than expected in the final opinion polls.
The Chief Counting Officer (CCO) Mary Pitcaithly announced the results on Friday morning in Edinburgh after compiling voting figures from all 32 council areas.
Scottish capital Edinburgh rejected independence by 194,638 to 123,927 votes, while Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, voted for freedom by 194,779 to 169,347 votes.
More than 3.6 million people above the age of 16, or 84.5 of the electorate, cast their votes in what was described as the largest vote in Scotland's history.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, British Prime Minister David Cameron said a "Yes" vote would have broken his heart, and that he was delighted the UK would remain united. He pledged to honor the commitments he made on passing on additional powers to Scotland.
Cameron expressed hope that the Conservative Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats, who are against secession, would now follow through with their promise to give more powers to the Scottish Parliament.
Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish Nationalists, called on Scots to accept the results, and urged the unionist parties to devolve more powers, as promised.
The British pound gained value against the US Dollar and the Euro as the results showed a swing to the "No" campaign.
Scotland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain on 1 May 1707, and the "No" vote means it will remain so. Scotland has limited self-government within the United Kingdom as well as representation in the British Parliament.
A "Yes" vote would have rewritten the future of the United Kingdom, leaving only three countries - Northern Ireland, England, and Wales under its territory.
The "No" vote closes a two-year campaign that sought an end to the 307-year-old union. Now discussions will begin on assigning more powers to the country.
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