An exclusive poll for Sky News suggests almost half of people living outside Scotland "wouldn't mind" waking up to discover the country was independent from the rest of the UK.
YouGov questioned more than 2,500 people across Scotland, Wales and England.
Speaking to Sky News for a special programme on Scottish independence, Mr Salmond, told Dermot Murnaghan he was confident people will vote in favour of Independence in the September 18 referendum.
He said the move would bring potential benefits and opportunities for people living in the north of England and Wales - referring to northern English councils' proposals to collaborate far more closely with their Scottish neighbours, as part of the Borderlands initiative.
He also re-emphasised the proposal for a Scottish Broadcasting Corporation with "dedicated Scottish channels" which would look at Scottish, international and UK news from a Scottish perspective.
Mr Salmond said: "Scotland is not a county, or a district, or a region - Scotland's a country, it's a nation.
Scottish actor Brian Cox told the programme the UK had a "broken political system" in which "England gets the tap end of the bath", while London had always been a "separate principality".
"One of the best things that could have happened to the English parliament is that it moves to somewhere like Wolverhampton," he suggested.
"It seems to me the logical step is that we do have our own nation, we deserve it, and it has been a long time coming."
