Ibu negerinyaPanaji (Panjim), bandaraya terbesarnyaVasco da Gama (Vasco), manakala bandaraya bersejarahMargao masih menonjolkan pengaruh budayaPortugis. Saudagar-saudagar Portugis mula mendarat di Goa pada awal abad ke-15, danEmpayar Portugis mengilhakkannya sejurus selepas itu.Jajahan ini wujud selama 450 tahun (salah satu jajahan yang paling lama dipegang milik di dunia), sehingga diambil alih dalam satupengilhakan oleh pemerintah India pada tahun 1961.[3][4]
^"Goa".Commissioner Linguistic Minorities, 42nd Report, July 2003 to June 2004. National Commissioner Linguistic Minorities. Dicapai pada2007-07-17.Konkani is the official language of the state. There is no second official language. However, as per notification, Marathi will be used for the purpose of reply by the Government whenever communications are received in that language. In the Official Language Act, it is provided that "the Marathi language, shall also be used for all or any of the official purposes". Further it is provided that "nothing contained in this sub section shall be deemed to affect the use of the Marathi language in educational, social or cultural fields".