Background: During the 20(th) century, the share of elderly in the total population of the Earth has increased steadily. It is expected that this trend will continue in the 21(st) century. In 1950, the elderly (persons aged 60 years and older) were 8% of the world population; in 2000, is already 10%; and in 2050, according to United Nations projections, the proportion will reach 21%. This research on Kazakhstan provides demographic analysis from 1989 to 2012 and presents the main features of population' ageing through comparative analysis.
Materials and methods: We used information-analytical, content-analysis, mathematical treatment and comparative analysis of statistical data on demographic status in Kazakhstan and some other countries of the world (UK, USA, Turkey, Russia) over the 1989-2012.
Results: Age dependency ratio of the Russian federation - >1.7 times, in the USA-up to 1.9 times and the UK has dependency ratio higher than 2.5 times of similar indicators in Kazakhstan in 2010.
Conclusion: Life expectancy of the elderly population KZ after 65 years in 2010 was only 13.8 years, which is 6-9 years inferior to European and U.S. indices. Thus, increasing the retirement age is inappropriate for the current period.
Keywords: Comparative study; demographic status; public health; retirement age.