When given the chance, countries tend to say yes to independence
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Version 0 of 1. History shows that when people are asked, they almost always say yes to independence. Every election, country and place’s history is unique and different. Scotland is no exception. Yet, when given the opportunity, countries tend to vote in favour of independence, and to do so decisively. We’ve looked at about 50 independence votes since 1846, and the vote for independence has averaged 82.9%, and came out on top in 88% of the votes. The median winning margin across the votes is 92.9 percentage points. This chart shows the winning margin in independence votes since 1846*. Turnout also tends to be particularly high, with the median at 85.5%. The Scottish vote is of course different - many past independence votes followed colonial rule, the dissolution of the USSR and, more recently, the war in ex-Yugoslavia. How do you say devo-max in Faroese? Several of the referendums through the years were unofficial or not recognised - the votes in eastern Ukraine a recent example - quite a few though eventually led to greater autonomy for the proposed state. The Faroe Islands voted in favour of independence in 1946, the vote wasn’t recognised by Denmark, and the issue eventually settled when Home Rule was granted in 1948. Here is the full data set of analysed votes*: *How questions are worded matters, but for the purpose of this exercise we have made all the votes for independence “Yes”, inverting any questions where independence was linked to the “No” option. For example, in Guinea the vote was to adopt the French Constitution, which would have meant joining France (and the rejection of which would have meant independence). |