South Goa district is one of two districts that together constiitue the state of Goa, 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.

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South Goa district
District of Goa
Location of South Goa district in Goa Red: Velhas Conquistas (old Portuguese conquests) Pink: Novas Conquistas (new Portuguese conquests) Yellow: District Capital
Country	India
State	Goa
Headquarters	Margao
Talukas	Salcete Mormugao Quepem Canacona Sanguem Dharbandora
Government
• District collector	Asvin Chandru A., I.A.S.
• Superintendent of Police	Abhishek Dhania, IPS
• Lok Sabha constituencies	South Goa
• Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha	Francisco Sardinha (INC)
• Zilla Parishad, Chairperson	Suvarna Tendulkar
Area
• Total	1,966 km2 (759 sq mi)
• Rank	1st
Population  (2011)
• Total	640,537
• Rank	2nd
• Density	330/km2 (840/sq mi)
• Urban	64.59%
Demographics
• Literacy	85.53%
• Sex ratio	980
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
PIN	4032xx ,4034xx, 4036xx, 4037xx,4038xx (South Goa) [1]
Telephone	+91 0832
Vehicle registration	GA-02
Major highways	1.National Highway 66, 2.National Highway 4A
Largest city	Cuncolim (28.7 km2)
Largest city (by population)	Mormugao
Climate	Am (Köppen)
Website	southgoa.nic.in

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The Portuguese established a colony in Goa in 1510 and expanded the colony to its present boundaries during the 17th and 18th centuries. Goa was annexed by India on 19 December 1961. Goa and two other former Portuguese enclaves became the union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu, and Goa was organised into a single district in 1965. On 30 May 1987 Goa attained statehood (while Daman and Diu became a separate union territory), and Goa was reorganised into two districts, North Goa and South Goa.

Asvin Chandru A,^[2] an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, is the Collector and District Magistrate of South Goa.^[3] There are deputy collectors and mamlatdars for each subdivision/taluka.

The headquarters of the district is Margao.^[4]

There are 205 revenue villages in South Goa District under seven Talukas (subdistricts) headed each by the Mamlatdar.^[5]

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.^[6]

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

Ponda taluka that was previously part of North Goa district became part of South Goa district in January 2015.

Frequent buses are available between Margao and North Goa.

According to the 2011 census South Goa has a population of 6,40,537^[9] which is roughly equal to the nation of Montenegro^[10] or the US state of Vermont.^[11] This gives it a ranking of 515th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 326 inhabitants per square kilometre (840/sq mi). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 8.63%. South Goa has a sex ratio of 980 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 85.53%.^[9] The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 1.22% and 14.47% of the population of the district.^[12]

There are many educational institutions in South Goa. The prominent colleges include:

• Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani – Goa Campus in Zuarinagar.
• The Parvatibai Chowgule College^[16] in Margao.
• Govind Ramnath Kare College of Law^[17] in Margao.
• Padre Conceicao College of Engineering (PCCE)^[18] in Verna.
• MES College^[19] in Vasco da Gama.