Can we use singular or plural nouns with names of countries?

Question

When asked a question about Collective Nouns, I told them that it is all right to use a singular or plural verb after a Collective Noun, as in -

The class was listening to the lecture with rapt attention.

Here the class is taken as a whole.

The class were working on their projects.

Here the the individuals are taken into consideration rather than the class as a whole.

Now the question is: Do we use singular or plural verbs with the names of countries, which are proper nouns, for the same reason?

As in:

Bhutan is said to be The Last Shangrila.
Bhutan are working on promoting their GNH Philosophy.

In American English, principally the mass noun sense. In BrE, it varies, but they're more accommodating of the count noun sense. — Dan Bron, Jun 15 '16 at 12:59
With a country, treat it as singular. With a sports team, treat it as plural, eg "Bhutan are going through to the final, against all expectations" — Max Williams, Jun 15 '16 at 13:14
@DanBron, what do you mean "mass noun sense"? The question makes no mention of mass nouns. — DyingIsFun, Jun 15 '16 at 13:15
@Silenus Is Bhutan a singular entity or a collection of individuals, is what I'm driving at. — Dan Bron, Jun 15 '16 at 13:16
@DanBron, Gotcha, but in either case, it's not a mass noun. It's a difference between the ensemble reading of a collective noun (individuals taken as a singular entity) and the individual reading of a collective noun (individuals taken one by one). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_noun — DyingIsFun, Jun 15 '16 at 13:19
Duplicate of Can the name of a country be considered a plural noun, as a collective of e.g. its citizens? and Are collective nouns always plural, or are certain ones singular? — TrevorD, Jun 15 '16 at 13:21
Even Brits do not say: Bhutan ARE. They say: The US are, yes. — Lambie, Jun 15 '16 at 13:46
@Lambie I'd use Bhutan are / The US are for a football etc team, and Bhutan is / The US is getting more expensive to visit etc. — Edwin Ashworth, Oct 06 '16 at 00:07
@Edwin Ashworth Well, I disagree. Not always: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1535_questionanswer/page51.shtml — Lambie, Oct 06 '16 at 15:47
@Lambie You disagree with what I say I say? It's your comment 'Even Brits do not say: Bhutan ARE. They say: The US are, yes.' that's very dubious. Most Brits would use 'Bhutan / The US are winning at half time' but 'Bhutan / The US is easy to reach by plane nowadays'. Which is totally in line with what Karen Adams says in your linked article.. — Edwin Ashworth, Oct 06 '16 at 16:02
@Edwin Ashworth Apologies. I should have been clearer. Bhutan is a small country versus Bhutan are not planning an invasion of Nepal is the kind of difference I should have made and did not. SORRY. — Lambie, Oct 06 '16 at 16:21

Can we use singular or plural nouns with names of countries?

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