Even before 9am on Friday it emerged Britain had voted to leave the European Union, the stock market was sent into a frenzy and Prime Minister David Cameron announced his intention to resign.

Half of the world woke up to the news later as the country began to move on from the close vote which saw the result swing 52-48 in favour of leaving.

Others watched as the results came in with the growing realisation of the result overnight and barely any opinion poll correctly predicted the final outcome.

The implications of the vote, regardless of the result, were always global and here we round up the reaction from around the world.

The New York Times front page said the vote had stunned the world and also led on the decision's impact on the fiscal markets.

Steven Erlanger wrote: "The stunning turn of events was accompanied by a plunge in the financial markets, with the value of the British pound and stock prices in Asia plummeting.

"For the European Union, the result is a disaster, raising questions about the direction, cohesion and future of a bloc built on liberal values and shared sovereignty that represents, with NATO, a vital component of Europe's postwar structure.

"The loss of Britain is an enormous blow to the credibility of a bloc already under pressure from slow growth, high unemployment, the migrant crisis, Greece's debt woes and the conflict in Ukraine."

The last point raised by the NYT is continued in The Washington Post.

Countries they name as potentially following in an exit are Sweden, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Hungary, France and also highlights Scotland as a particular case.

Rick Noack said: "Britain has had two crucial referendums within only two years, but it might need to prepare for a third one - and potentially Europe's only pro-EU referendum in a long time. Scotland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom in 2014, but the country is mostly pro-European Union.

"Considerations to join the EU are only thought experiments at this stage, but they are being conducted surprisingly publicly and in a detailed manner. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who is a member of the Scottish National Party, said Scotland will be weighing its options.

"Asked whether Scotland would really be prepared for another referendum on splitting from the United Kingdom, Sturgeon said that the issue was 'definitely on the table'."

Friday's Wall Street Journal focuses on the financial aspect of the referendum result with the sub-headline "Pound nose-dives, stocks plunge, bond yields fall".

Jenny W. Hsu reported for the paper on the oil markets in Asia:

She said: "Crude-oil prices plummeted in Asian trade Friday as UK voters upended market expectations by choosing to exit the European Union, leaving a trail of unknowns of what could happen to the economic future of the region.

"The unexpected result of the so-called Brexit vote mounted strong pressure on the British pound, sending the greenback soaring as investors seek refuge in safe haven assets.

"Oil prices fell to nearly 7% at one point in the session."

CNN also reflects the dramatic change in the market with claims investors are turning to safer currencies such as the Japanese Yen and labelled the mood around the London School of Economics as "nervous".

They reported: "Stocks got hammered amid the panicked mood. Shares in London got off to a brutal start, collapsing more than 8% soon after the open. Bank stocks took a particularly heavy hit as several UK lenders nosedived more than 20%.

"After wild swings in Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei closed down 7.9%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 2.9%. US stock futures are also sharply lower, with the Dow projected to tumble more than 450 points at the open."

Meanwhile the Sydney Morning Herald questioned if there would be "anarchy in the UK" following the Brexit with unchecked immigration and Cameron's resignation among the talking points.

Europe correspondent Nick Miller wrote: "Mr Cameron said he would stay in the role until the Conservative Party conference in October, to ensure stability, after the shock referendum result that defied late polls and was predicted to hurt the global economy. Only then would his successor invoke Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon to trigger the exit process itself.

"The rusting industrial, white working-class heart of Britain led a surge of votes for the island to break its legal and economic ties to Europe and reset itself as an independent nation. The vote to leave was also dramatically skewed to older people, with 64 per cent of 18 to 25-year-olds voting to stay.

"Motivating the vote was mistrust of unchecked immigration from Europe, analysts said."

Closer to home the Irish Times reported on Sinn Fein's calls during the night for a vote on the unification of Ireland after Northern Ireland, like Scotland, voted to remain.

Fiach Kelly said: "Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the referendum result in favour of Brexit means the 'British government has forfeited any mandate to represent the economic or political interests of the people' in the North.

"[He] said the result intensifies the case for a poll on a united Ireland while Declan Kearney, a member of the Stormont Assembly and national chairman of Sinn Féin, said the vote in England overturned 'the democratic will of people here in the north of Ireland, republican and unionist, Catholic and Protestant people (who) have voted in favour of Remain'."

And like some American newspapers the Daily Sabah looks ahead to who else may consider their status within the union including its native Turkey and also potentially Italy.

Yunus Paksoy reported: "Amid turmoil in the European Union due to the inability of the 28 nation-bloc's leaders to hold the union together, Turkey has sent a stern warning to the EU, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said there could be a referendum in the near future to exit membership talks.

"Claiming that Turks do not really care about joining the EU, [political columnist Kemal] Öztürk said the refugee crisis and the EU's stance on terrorist organisations in Turkey created distrust between them.

"Apart from support for Turkey's bid to join the EU, [president of the A&G research company Adil] Gür contended that nearly 80 percent or 90 percent of Turks do not really care about visa liberalization"

And reaction closer to home can be found here.