I.

Introduction

Goa, state, western India, bordered on the north by Maharashtra State, on the east and south by Karnataka State, formerly part of Portuguese India, and on the west by the Arabian Sea. Until May 1987, when it attained statehood, Goa was part of Goa, Daman, and Diu, a union territory named after the three districts it comprised. Daman and Diu retained separate status as a union territory. Goa is India’s smallest state, covering an area of about 3,702 sq km (1,429 sq mi).

II.

Physical Geography

Goa is situated on the Malabar Coast and has sandy beaches and a tropical climate. Inland, Goa becomes hilly, stretching to part of the Western Ghats. About one third of the state is covered by forest. The principal rivers are the Zuari and the Mandovi. Goa’s climate is generally warm, with average January temperatures ranging from 19° to 29° C (66° to 84° F), and average June temperatures ranging from 25° to 33° C (77° to 91° F). Goa experiences a monsoon season from June to September, which accounts for around 80 per cent of the state's average annual rainfall.

III.

Population

The population of the state is 1,343,998 (2001). Goa has an average population density of 363 people per sq km (940 per sq mi). The state capital is Panaji (Panjim), which has a population of 98,915 (2001). The two other principal population centres are Madgaon (population, 2001, 94,392) and Marmagao (1991, 83,367). Smaller settlements include Cortalim (1991, 6,298), Mahem (1991, 10,446), and Taleigao (1991, 14,279).

The population of Goa includes native inhabitants, Portuguese descendants, and the descendants of marriages between the two groups. Goa's official language is Konkani, although English, Hindi, Marathi, and Portuguese are also spoken. Most of the native inhabitants are Hindu, while many of the Portuguese descendants are Christians; there are also some Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. Goa University (founded in 1985) is located in the town of Taleigao.

IV.

Economy

The Goan mainland, on the Malabar Coast, is the largest and historically the most important part of the state. Agriculture is the main occupation; rice, fruits, coconuts, pulses, and cashew nuts are the main crops. Fishing is also important, and there is some mining of manganese, iron ore, and bauxite. Tourism has expanded rapidly since the 1970s; by 2002 the number of yearly visitors (both domestic and overseas) had increased to almost 1.4 million—comparable to the total population of the state. Goa’s sandy beaches, wildlife sanctuaries and nature reserves, and sacred temples and sites of pilgrimage and worship are particularly popular destinations. There is an international airport at Dabolim, a short distance from the harbour town of Marmagao and the Konkan Railway, completed in 1997, passes through the state.

V.

Government

Goa has a unicameral legislative assembly of 40 members. The state sends three members to the Indian national parliament: one to the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and two to the Lok Sabha (lower house). At the 2004 general election to the Lok Sabha the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress won one seat each. There are two local government administrative districts—North Goa and South Goa.

VI.

History

The ancient Hindu city of Goa (in Sanskrit Gove, Govapuri, or Gomant) lies in ruins. Nearby, the city of Old Goa (in Portuguese, Velha Goa), founded about 1440 and conquered by the Portuguese in 1510, is also nearly abandoned, although it contains several very old buildings, including the cathedral founded by the Portuguese conqueror Afonso de Albuquerque in 1511 and the convent of St Francis of Assisi (1517). Bom Jesus, a converted mosque dating from the same period, contains the tomb of the Spanish Jesuit missionary St Francis Xavier, who began his missionary work in Goa in 1542. At the height of its prosperity (c. 1575-1675), Old Goa had a population of 20,000. By the early 18th century, attacks by the natives and by rival Dutch traders had almost destroyed the city, and in 1759 the state capital was transferred to Nova Goa (later called Panjim, and now Panaji). The churches and convents of Old Goa, including Bom Jesus, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.