Go, often referred to as Golang, is a statically typed, compiled programming language designed to emphasize simplicity, efficiency, and ease of use. Developed by Google engineers Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson, Go was first released in 2009. It was designed to address common issues faced by developers, such as slow compilation times and complex syntax, while also offering strong support for concurrency and efficient memory usage.

Key characteristics of Go include:

1. Simplicity: Go's syntax is minimalist and straightforward, focusing on readability and reducing unnecessary complexity.

2. Concurrent Programming: Go places a strong emphasis on concurrency with its built-in mechanisms like goroutines and channels. Goroutines are lightweight threads that allow for efficient parallelism, and channels facilitate communication and synchronization between goroutines.

3. Fast Compilation: Go's compilation process is remarkably fast, enabling rapid development cycles and quick iterations.

4. Garbage Collection: Go features an automatic garbage collector that helps manage memory, relieving developers from manual memory management tasks.

5. Strong Typing: Go is statically typed, which means that type errors are caught at compile-time, enhancing code reliability.

6. Standard Library: Go comes with a rich standard library that covers a wide range of tasks, reducing the need for third-party dependencies.

7. Cross-Platform: Go supports multiple operating systems and architectures, making it suitable for building cross-platform applications.

8. Open Source: Go is an open-source language, and its development is driven by a collaborative community effort.

9. Compiled Language: Go code is compiled into machine code, resulting in high-performance executables.

10. Static Linking: Go programs can be statically linked, meaning they can be deployed as a single executable file without external dependencies.

Go has gained popularity in various domains, including web development, system programming, network services, and cloud infrastructure. It's used by prominent companies like Google, Uber, Docker, and Netflix.

In summary, Go is a programming language that emphasizes simplicity, efficiency, and concurrency support. Its user-friendly syntax, built-in concurrency mechanisms, and fast compilation make it a popular choice for a wide range of applications and industries.