South Goa

South Goa is one of two districts that comprises the state of Goa in India, within the region known as the Konkan. It is bounded by North Goa district to the north, the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast.

Divisions

Margao is the administrative headquarters of the district. The 'Matanhy Saldanha Administrative Complex', the collectorate building, named after former minister and social activist Mr Mathany Saldanha, is located on the outskirts of the city, adjoining the intercity bus stand.

The district is divided into five subdivisions—Ponda, Mormugao‑Vasco, Margao, Quepem, and Dharbandora; and seven subdivisions (talukas)—Ponda, Mormugao, Salcete (Margao), Quepem, and Canacona (Chaudi), Sanguem, and Dharbandora.

Ponda taluka was shifted from North Goa district to South Goa district in January 2015.

Transport

Frequent buses are available between Margao and North Goa.

Language

Konkani is the mother tongue of a majority of the people living in South Goa district. Marathi is spoken by a substantial number of people. English and Hindi are understood by a majority of the population. Portuguese is also spoken and understood by a small number of people.

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 66.44% of the population in the district spoke Konkani, 12.38% Hindi, 6.45% Marathi, 5.98% Kannada, 3.39% Urdu, 1.00% Malayalam, 0.86% Telugu, 0.55% Bengali, 0.49% Tamil, 0.49% Gujarati, 0.44% Odia and 0.42% English as their first language.