Early results from Southern Sudan's referendum indicate the region has voted overwhelmingly to split from the north and form a new country. Full results of the poll are not due until next month, but the region is widely expected to choose to secede. Southern Sudanese people living in Europe have already voted 97% in favour of a new state.

The historic referendum was part of a peace agreement signed with north Sudan in 2005, ending decades of war.

Polling stations opened on 9 January and were officially closed on Saturday evening.

A minimum 60% turnout was required for the vote to be considered valid, a target which had easily been passed by the middle of the week.

The chairman of the Southern Sudanese Referendum Commission, Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, has said more than 80% of eligible voters in the south had cast their ballots, along with 53% in the north and 91% of voters living in the eight other countries hosting polling stations.

He said the referendum would be considered "a good result by any international standard".

The Associated Press reported a 95% turnout at 10 sites in Juba, which would be the capital of a future Southern Sudan. A sample suggested that 96% had voted in favour of secession.

Southern Sudanese people living in Australia have been given extra time to cast their votes where severe flooding has hampered the process.