Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said she expects Scotland to become independent from the United Kingdom by 2025 in an interview published on Monday.

"I think Scotland will be independent, yes, but that's a choice for the Scottish people," Sturgeon, who is first minister in Scotland, replied after she was asked in an ITV interview if she thought the UK will have broken up by 2025.

Opinion polls show Sturgeon's Scottish National Party looks likely to win the most seats north of the English border in Britain's parliamentary election on Thursday, but to lose some of the 54 seats it holds out of the 59 allocated to Scotland.

ITV said Sturgeon's interview took place on May 31.