The trend is a major blow to the government ahead of parliamentary elections later this month. It had said that it will be able to look after all Kazakhs during the economic downturn.

But official data, suggested that for many pensioners in Kazakhstan, the downturn has been so heavy that they have had to return to work.

The size of the workforce aged over 65 in Kazakhstan, the usual retirement age, doubled in 2015, the ranking.kz website said quoting data from the state’s statistics centre.

In Almaty, a Conway Bulletin correspondent spoke to several elderly Kazakhs who had picked up a new job or had never quit work.

Nina Lozovaya, 81, was a chemistry and biology school teacher. She carried on working until she was 78. Now, though, her state teacher’s pension is so small that she was selling her clothes and other items on the street to earn money for medicine.

“The price for medications increased dramatically, and now I don’t have enough money to buy them,” she said. “Teachers’ pension is very small. I try to buy less medications now.” Her face crumpled with exasperation.

Further down the street an old woman was selling newspapers. She declined to be named but said: “I work because I need money, obviously.”

There is another side to the story behind Kazakhstan’s elderly workforce, though. People often carry on casual jobs after reaching retirement age to boost their income.

Sandugash, 73, worked in a small shop.

“After the death of my husband, I had many diseases and depression,” she said. “When I started working, each year I feel much better. And I can afford to go out sometimes because of the job.”

Life expectancy for men in Kazakhstan is 64 years and for women is 73 years. This means elderly women dominate the retirees’ workforce.