Goa (/ˈɡoʊə/ (listen)) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats.[8][9] It is surrounded by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the east and south, with the Arabian Sea forming its western coast. It is India's smallest state by area and its fourth-smallest by population.