Proper noun

Goa

1. State in western India which has Panaji as its capital.

Noun

Goa (uncountable)

1. (music) A form of trance music that originated during the late 1980s in Goa, India (also Goa trance).

Goa (pronounced /ˈɡoʊ.ə/ ( listen); Konkani: गोंय) is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Goa is India's richest state with a GDP per capita two and a half times that of the country as a whole. It was ranked the best placed state by the Eleventh Finance Commission for its infrastructure and ranked on top for the best quality of life in India by the National Commission on Population based on the 12 Indicators.

Panaji is the state's capital, while Vasco da Gama is the largest city. The historic city of Margao still exhibits the cultural influence of the Portuguese, who first landed in the early 16th century as merchants, and conquered it soon thereafter. The Portuguese overseas territory existed for about 450 years, until it was annexed by India in 1961.

Renowned for its beaches, places of worship and world heritage architecture, Goa is visited by large numbers of international and domestic tourists each year. It also has rich flora and fauna, owing to its location on the Western Ghats range, which is classified as a biodiversity hotspot.

Goa is a small region along the west coast of the Indian subcontinent. It was a Portuguese colony for a long period from 1510 to 1961, leading to a rich -- if not always peaceful -- encounter between East and West. Since 1961, it became a part of India. Prior to its encounter with the Portuguese too, it had been a prominent centre of trade in the region.