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The Balanta of Cabo Verde

The Balanta of Cabo Verde, numbering approximately 58,500 people, are No Longer Unreached. They are a diaspora language-variety subgroup of the Balanta of Guinea-Bissau associated with the Kentohe variety of Balanta. They mostly adhere to Roman Catholicism and Balanta-Kentohe is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Balanta

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Cabo Verde
People Cluster: Atlantic
Primary Language(s): Balanta-Kentohe (ble)
Primary Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Population: 58,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): No Longer Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): 5% or Greater but Less than 10% Evangelical
People Group ID: PG012819
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Pray for the Balanta of Cabo Verde

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Roman Catholicism
Religious Affiliation: Christianity

96%
%
Roman Catholicism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Balanta-Kentohe
Language Family: Atlantic-Congo

100%
%
Balanta Speakers

Media Resources in Balanta-Kentohe:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film

2 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Balanta-Kentohe:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Balanta-Kentohe bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Balanta are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Balanta:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Balanta of Cabo Verde

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God".
readRomans 3:10-11

Pray that God will have mercy on those living in broken relationship with Him, and that He will bring many to surrender and repentance at the throne of grace.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:19-20

Pray that God will use His creation – the “things that have been made” – to spark a fresh and passionate curiosity among them to draw near to the Maker and that, as they seek Him, He will make a way for them to hear the gospel and receive it with joy.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
readRomans 12:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, knowing that this is their spiritual worship.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
readMatthew 7:28-29

Pray that God will remind believers that they have His authority as they share His truth with the lost, and pray He will draw crowds of people to this message and plant it deeply in their hearts.

Balanta, Kentohe Across Countries (ROP3 - 111208) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▲
BalantaPG013444BalantaGuinea-Bissau553,000Engaged yet UnreachedBalanta-KentoheAnimism
Bissau-GuineansPG047464Bissau-GuineansCanada90Engaged yet UnreachedBalanta-KentoheEthnoreligion
BalantaPG012819BalantaCabo Verde58,500No Longer UnreachedBalanta-KentoheRoman Catholicism

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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