FOR THOSE OF us who call Penang home, our sense of attachment is strongly tied the state’s liveability. Beyond its famous food trails, rich culture, heritage and greenery that appeal to tourists, the comfort of our physical environment and accessibility to services contribute to a particular quality of life, which actively supports our overall wellbeing. Besides that, the strength of Penang’s social infrastructure is also an important measure of its liveability. The Penang Satisfaction Survey (PSS) 2026 measures how satisfied residents are with their everyday lives, as seen through the lens of liveability.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
Comfortable space is one of the foundations for making a city attractive. With 74.8% of residents surveyed satisfied with their current living conditions, this foundation appears to hold strong. Consequently, housing is one of the more positively rated dimensions of liveability. But for a home to offer more than just shelter, family and close relationships necessarily come into play. This is the third-most important priority for respondents when it comes to gauging what a satisfying life means.
Overall, PSS 2026 finds that Penang residents are highly satisfied with their familial relationships. Overall, the percentage of satisfied respondents stands at 88.6%, with Seberang Perai Tengah scoring particularly high (96.5%).
Respondents also viewed their community relationships rather positively, with 86% expressing satisfaction. Seberang Perai Utara seemingly has a particularly strong sense of community, with 90.6% of its respondents satis-fied with their community links. Moreover, this positive outlook also carries across to community safety, where 89.5% of these respondents feel safe within their own communities. This finding possibly points to stronger community connections between local residents, which may help create an inclusive environment for active engagement.
A clear pattern is sustained across all districts: strong satisfaction with community relationships translates into a high sense of community safety. Even in Seberang Perai Selatan—the district with the lowest satisfaction ratings for both community relationships and community safety—87% of respondents still feel relatively safe. For res-idents, Penang’s liveability is felt not only within their living spaces, but also among the wider community around them.
EVALUATING UNDERLYING INFRASTRUCTURE
Beyond homes and neighbourhoods, public spaces and services also shape liveability, which residents are dependent upon for their daily routines. Cleanliness, and its maintenance by state and local governments, receive a satisfaction rating of 67%: generally, most people feel positive about the conditions of their surroundings. After all, rubbish-free streets and clean neighbourhoods are undoubtedly basic expectations integral to comfort. Additionally, the high rating of waste management efforts under the “Environmental” pillar of PSS 2026 further reflects residents’ satisfaction with the maintenance of cleanliness (as discussed below).
Healthcare access is another vital element of everyday support and an important component of liveability, receiving a satisfaction rating of 80.2%. The state government has also implemented efforts to widen accessibility to hospitals by launching a new free Central Area Transit (CAT) shuttle bus in January 2026. This service connects KOMTAR with Hospital Pulau Pinang (Penang General Hospital) and other key health facilities; with ridership steadily rising, connections to healthcare services are strengthened.
