Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland will launch immediate talks with European Union nations and institutions to find a way to remain in the bloc despite Britain's vote to leave.

Sturgeon says voters in Scotland gave "emphatic" backing to remaining in the bloc. A majority of voters in more-populous England opted to leave.

After meeting with her Cabinet she said "we will seek to enter into immediate discussion" with the rest of the EU.

She says a new referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom is "very much on the table."