In Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen lives in the country of Panem.
Panem is a fictional nation established in what remains of North America after an unspecified series of disasters. Its political center is the Capitol, which rules over twelve districts in the first novel. The districts provide resources and labor, while the Capitol controls government, media, and the Hunger Games.
The name Panem comes from the Latin phrase “panem et circenses,” meaning “bread and circuses.” That phrase describes a government maintaining public obedience through basic provisions and entertainment. Collins uses the name to connect the fictional society with ideas about political control and spectacle.
Readers sometimes confuse Panem with District 12, which is Katniss’s home district, or with the Capitol, the ruling city within Panem. Panem is the country; District 12 is one of its districts. Later books reveal more of Panem’s history, including the rebellion that led to the Games.