In *The Hunger Games*, the nation containing the Capitol and its districts is called Panem.
Panem is a post-apocalyptic country established in what remains of North America after catastrophic environmental and social upheaval. It is ruled from the wealthy Capitol, while the surrounding districts are exploited for labor and natural resources. In the first novel, twelve districts remain under Capitol control; District 13 is officially said to have been destroyed after an earlier rebellion.
The districts are not interchangeable regions. District 12, where Katniss Everdeen lives, is associated with coal mining and severe poverty, while other districts specialize in industries such as fishing, agriculture, technology, and luxury goods. This unequal system helps explain the resentment that fuels the story’s rebellion.
Panem is sometimes confused with the three superstates in Orwell’s *1984*: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Those names belong to a different dystopian world. Panem’s name comes from the Latin phrase “bread and circuses,” reflecting the Capitol’s use of spectacle and food to control the population.