Election results: What time will we find out if Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton has won?

Exit polls will be released through the night but 2am until 3am will be the busiest time for poll results

Across the world people are awaiting the result of the 2016 US presidential election. Here is when we will know who the 45th president of the United States is.

When the exit polls be released?

Exit polls will be released through the night, though votes in swing states could take hours longer to count depending on how close the result is.

Between 8pm EST (2am GMT) and 9pm EST (3am GMT) will be the busiest time for poll results, with 20 states, including the key states of Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Although the last state, Alaska, won't have closed its polls until 10pm EST (4am GMT), there should be a good idea of who has won by this point in the night.

What time will we find out who has won?

If the night goes smoothly, the result could be announced around 11pm EST (4am GMT), when polls on the West Coast close and a winner is has been declared in the past.

In the last election, Last election, Barack Obama was called for at 11.48pm EST (4:48am GMT).

A concessions speech by the losing party will follow after, when it is clear which side has won.

What happens if there is no outcome tonight?

There is the possibility there will be no outcome by the end of election day itself, due to the result being too close to call, legal debates or a tie.

Such a scenario could drag out teh election into Wednesday 9 November in the US, or potentially even further into the future.