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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

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
readPsalm 150:2

Pray for the gospel to advance among those who are living in darkness. Pray that they will come to know Jesus and praise Him for all that He has done.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
readMatthew 5:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be humble and give glory to God through their good deeds.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
readJohn 1:35-36

Pray for those God sends to cross cultures to share the gospel, that they might faithfully share the good news of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
BalantaPG013444BalantaGuinea-Bissau552,000Engaged 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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