Donald Trump elected president

Donald Trump has been elected president of the United States, in one of the biggest political shocks in American history.

The Republican businessman defeated the Democrat Hillary Clinton in the election held on 8 November. His victory became clear in the early hours of 9 November, American time.

The result

Trump won key battleground states including Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and appears to have taken Wisconsin, states in the industrial Midwest that had voted Democratic in recent elections.

Clinton appears to have won more votes nationally, but Trump won a clear majority in the electoral college.

Opinion polls had suggested that Clinton was likely to win.

Trump's message

In his victory speech in New York, Trump said it was time for America to bind the wounds of division, and promised to be president for all Americans.

During the campaign, he promised to build a wall on the border with Mexico, to renegotiate trade deals, to bring back manufacturing jobs and to put "America first".

Clinton concedes

Clinton, a former Secretary of State and senator, and the wife of the former president Bill Clinton, conceded defeat. She said the result was painful, but urged her supporters to give Trump a chance to lead.

A divisive campaign

The campaign was one of the most bitter in American history. Trump was criticised for comments about women, immigrants and Muslims, while Clinton faced questions about her use of a private email server.

Trump, who has never held public office, appealed strongly to white working-class voters who felt left behind by globalisation.

Markets

Financial markets fell sharply as the result became clear, although they later recovered some of their losses.

World reaction

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, congratulated Trump and said Britain and the United States would remain strong and close partners. Some compared the result with Britain's vote to leave the European Union in June, as a rejection of the political establishment.

Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader who campaigned for Brexit, has appeared alongside Trump at a rally.

What next

Trump will take office on 20 January. The Republicans have also kept control of both houses of Congress.