diff --git a/doc/libpmemobj/pmemobj_ctl_get.3.md b/doc/libpmemobj/pmemobj_ctl_get.3.md
index fa374def8aa5a6f237dda3dc3e21d2ca2092674f..336d4e12a183a800f8375146f19b55da4de15b21 100644
--- a/doc/libpmemobj/pmemobj_ctl_get.3.md
+++ b/doc/libpmemobj/pmemobj_ctl_get.3.md
@@ -328,14 +328,17 @@ naming in the application (e.g. when writing a library that uses libpmemobj).
 The required class identifier will be stored in the `class_id` field of the
 `struct pobj_alloc_class_desc`.
 
-stats.enabled | rw | - | int | int | - | boolean
+stats.enabled | rw | - | enum pobj_stats_enabled | enum pobj_stats_enabled | - |
+string
 
-Enables or disables runtime collection of statistics. Statistics are not
-recalculated after enabling; any operations that occur between disabling and
-re-enabling will not be reflected in subsequent values.
+Enables or disables runtime collection of statistics. There are two types of
+statistics: persistent and transient ones. Persistent statistics survive pool
+restarts, whereas transient ones don't. Statistics are not recalculated after
+enabling; any operations that occur between disabling and re-enabling will not
+be reflected in subsequent values.
 
-Statistics are disabled by default. Enabling them may have non-trivial
-performance impact.
+Only transient statistics are enabled by default. Enabling persistent statistics
+may have non-trivial performance impact.
 
 stats.heap.curr_allocated | r- | - | uint64_t | - | - | -
 
@@ -343,6 +346,8 @@ Reads the number of bytes currently allocated in the heap. If statistics were
 disabled at any time in the lifetime of the heap, this value may be
 inaccurate.
 
+This is a persistent statistic.
+
 stats.heap.run_allocated | r- | - | uint64_t | - | - | -
 
 Reads the number of bytes currently allocated using run-based allocation
@@ -354,9 +359,9 @@ This is a transient statistic and is rebuilt every time the pool is opened.
 
 stats.heap.run_active | r- | - | uint64_t | - | - | -
 
-Reads the number of bytes currently occupied by all memory blocks occupied by
-runs, including both allocated and free space, i.e., all space that's not
-occupied by huge blocks.
+Reads the number of bytes currently occupied by all run memory blocks, including
+both allocated and free space, i.e., this is all the all space that's not
+occupied by huge allocations.
 
 This value is a sum of all allocated and free run memory. In systems where
 memory is efficiently used, `run_active` should closely track
diff --git a/src/include/libpmemobj/ctl.h b/src/include/libpmemobj/ctl.h
index 7d01f74f9ebc96c1bfd30dbf43e27a74f3a10963..e055cc484f9d7e785ae4e1ba04c9a8d831a486d4 100644
--- a/src/include/libpmemobj/ctl.h
+++ b/src/include/libpmemobj/ctl.h
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2017-2018, Intel Corporation
+ * Copyright 2017-2019, Intel Corporation
  *
  * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
  * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
@@ -166,6 +166,13 @@ struct pobj_alloc_class_desc {
 	unsigned class_id;
 };
 
+enum pobj_stats_enabled {
+	POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_TRANSIENT,
+	POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_BOTH,
+	POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_PERSISTENT,
+	POBJ_STATS_DISABLED,
+};
+
 #ifndef _WIN32
 /* EXPERIMENTAL */
 int pmemobj_ctl_get(PMEMobjpool *pop, const char *name, void *arg);
diff --git a/src/libpmemobj/stats.c b/src/libpmemobj/stats.c
index ede15d06c49166b04edf7fd9a72ccc3d20745871..cfb34e57cf756963462b5c7861426d61f00410e8 100644
--- a/src/libpmemobj/stats.c
+++ b/src/libpmemobj/stats.c
@@ -60,9 +60,43 @@ CTL_READ_HANDLER(enabled)(void *ctx,
 {
 	PMEMobjpool *pop = ctx;
 
-	int *arg_out = arg;
+	enum pobj_stats_enabled *arg_out = arg;
 
-	*arg_out = pop->stats->enabled > 0;
+	*arg_out = pop->stats->enabled;
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+/*
+ * stats_enabled_parser -- parses the stats enabled type
+ */
+static int
+stats_enabled_parser(const void *arg, void *dest, size_t dest_size)
+{
+	const char *vstr = arg;
+	enum pobj_stats_enabled *enabled = dest;
+	ASSERTeq(dest_size, sizeof(enum pobj_stats_enabled));
+
+	int bool_out;
+	if (ctl_arg_boolean(arg, &bool_out, sizeof(bool_out)) == 0) {
+		*enabled = bool_out ?
+			POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_BOTH : POBJ_STATS_DISABLED;
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	if (strcmp(vstr, "disabled") == 0) {
+		*enabled = POBJ_STATS_DISABLED;
+	} else if (strcmp(vstr, "both") == 0) {
+		*enabled = POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_BOTH;
+	} else if (strcmp(vstr, "persistent") == 0) {
+		*enabled = POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_PERSISTENT;
+	} else if (strcmp(vstr, "transient") == 0) {
+		*enabled = POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_TRANSIENT;
+	} else {
+		ERR("invalid enable type");
+		errno = EINVAL;
+		return -1;
+	}
 
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -77,14 +111,19 @@ CTL_WRITE_HANDLER(enabled)(void *ctx,
 {
 	PMEMobjpool *pop = ctx;
 
-	int arg_in = *(int *)arg;
-
-	pop->stats->enabled = arg_in > 0;
+	pop->stats->enabled = *(enum pobj_stats_enabled *)arg;
 
 	return 0;
 }
 
-static const struct ctl_argument CTL_ARG(enabled) = CTL_ARG_BOOLEAN;
+static const struct ctl_argument CTL_ARG(enabled) = {
+	.dest_size = sizeof(enum pobj_stats_enabled),
+	.parsers = {
+		CTL_ARG_PARSER(sizeof(enum pobj_stats_enabled),
+			stats_enabled_parser),
+		CTL_ARG_PARSER_END
+	}
+};
 
 static const struct ctl_node CTL_NODE(stats)[] = {
 	CTL_CHILD(heap),
@@ -105,7 +144,7 @@ stats_new(PMEMobjpool *pop)
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
-	s->enabled = 0;
+	s->enabled = POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_TRANSIENT;
 	s->persistent = &pop->stats_persistent;
 	VALGRIND_ADD_TO_GLOBAL_TX_IGNORE(s->persistent, sizeof(*s->persistent));
 	s->transient = Zalloc(sizeof(struct stats_transient));
diff --git a/src/libpmemobj/stats.h b/src/libpmemobj/stats.h
index 54378bdadc14167295bd154291f6a4d375ca56fd..e3390be057ea8d5678564290c2da1e7b159e3722 100644
--- a/src/libpmemobj/stats.h
+++ b/src/libpmemobj/stats.h
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 #define LIBPMEMOBJ_STATS_H 1
 
 #include "ctl.h"
+#include "libpmemobj/ctl.h"
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 extern "C" {
@@ -53,25 +54,59 @@ struct stats_persistent {
 };
 
 struct stats {
-	int enabled;
+	enum pobj_stats_enabled enabled;
 	struct stats_transient *transient;
 	struct stats_persistent *persistent;
 };
 
 #define STATS_INC(stats, type, name, value) do {\
-	if ((stats)->enabled)\
-		util_fetch_and_add64((&(stats)->type->name), (value));\
+	STATS_INC_##type(stats, name, value);\
+} while (0)
+
+#define STATS_INC_transient(stats, name, value) do {\
+	if ((stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_TRANSIENT ||\
+	(stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_BOTH)\
+		util_fetch_and_add64((&(stats)->transient->name), (value));\
+} while (0)
+
+#define STATS_INC_persistent(stats, name, value) do {\
+	if ((stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_PERSISTENT ||\
+	(stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_BOTH)\
+		util_fetch_and_add64((&(stats)->persistent->name), (value));\
 } while (0)
 
 #define STATS_SUB(stats, type, name, value) do {\
-	if ((stats)->enabled)\
-		util_fetch_and_sub64((&(stats)->type->name), (value));\
+	STATS_SUB_##type(stats, name, value);\
+} while (0)
+
+#define STATS_SUB_transient(stats, name, value) do {\
+	if ((stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_TRANSIENT ||\
+	(stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_BOTH)\
+		util_fetch_and_sub64((&(stats)->transient->name), (value));\
+} while (0)
+
+#define STATS_SUB_persistent(stats, name, value) do {\
+	if ((stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_PERSISTENT ||\
+	(stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_BOTH)\
+		util_fetch_and_sub64((&(stats)->persistent->name), (value));\
 } while (0)
 
 #define STATS_SET(stats, type, name, value) do {\
-	if ((stats)->enabled)\
-		util_atomic_store_explicit64((&(stats)->type->name), (value),\
-		memory_order_release);\
+	STATS_SET_##type(stats, name, value);\
+} while (0)
+
+#define STATS_SET_transient(stats, name, value) do {\
+	if ((stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_TRANSIENT ||\
+	(stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_BOTH)\
+		util_atomic_store_explicit64((&(stats)->transient->name),\
+		(value), memory_order_release);\
+} while (0)
+
+#define STATS_SET_persistent(stats, name, value) do {\
+	if ((stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_PERSISTENT ||\
+	(stats)->enabled == POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_BOTH)\
+		util_atomic_store_explicit64((&(stats)->persistent->name),\
+		(value), memory_order_release);\
 } while (0)
 
 #define STATS_CTL_LEAF(type, name)\
diff --git a/src/test/obj_ctl_stats/obj_ctl_stats.c b/src/test/obj_ctl_stats/obj_ctl_stats.c
index f7bbf2327a2810b79592ad1b04f2d945b52e56ca..7e443a190850adbe97e99df9d0bc410d55dbb95f 100644
--- a/src/test/obj_ctl_stats/obj_ctl_stats.c
+++ b/src/test/obj_ctl_stats/obj_ctl_stats.c
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	size_t run_allocated = 0;
 	ret = pmemobj_ctl_get(pop, "stats.heap.run_allocated", &run_allocated);
 	UT_ASSERTeq(ret, 0);
-	UT_ASSERTeq(allocated, run_allocated);
+	UT_ASSERT(run_allocated /* 2 allocs */ > allocated /* 1 alloc */);
 
 	pmemobj_free(&oid);
 
@@ -87,10 +87,9 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	UT_ASSERTeq(ret, 0);
 	UT_ASSERTeq(allocated, 0);
 
-	allocated = 0;
 	ret = pmemobj_ctl_get(pop, "stats.heap.run_allocated", &run_allocated);
 	UT_ASSERTeq(ret, 0);
-	UT_ASSERTeq(allocated, run_allocated);
+	UT_ASSERT(run_allocated /* 2 allocs */ > allocated /* 1 alloc */);
 
 	TX_BEGIN(pop) {
 		oid = pmemobj_tx_alloc(1, 0);
@@ -102,6 +101,27 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	UT_ASSERTeq(ret, 0);
 	UT_ASSERTeq(allocated, oid_size);
 
+	enum pobj_stats_enabled enum_enabled;
+	ret = pmemobj_ctl_get(pop, "stats.enabled", &enum_enabled);
+	UT_ASSERTeq(enabled, POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_BOTH);
+	UT_ASSERTeq(ret, 0);
+
+	run_allocated = 0;
+	ret = pmemobj_ctl_get(pop, "stats.heap.run_allocated", &run_allocated);
+	UT_ASSERTeq(ret, 0);
+
+	enum_enabled = POBJ_STATS_ENABLED_PERSISTENT; /* transient disabled */
+	ret = pmemobj_ctl_set(pop, "stats.enabled", &enum_enabled);
+	UT_ASSERTeq(ret, 0);
+
+	ret = pmemobj_alloc(pop, &oid, 1, 0, NULL, NULL);
+	UT_ASSERTeq(ret, 0);
+
+	size_t tmp = 0;
+	ret = pmemobj_ctl_get(pop, "stats.heap.run_allocated", &tmp);
+	UT_ASSERTeq(ret, 0);
+	UT_ASSERTeq(tmp, run_allocated); /* shouldn't change */
+
 	pmemobj_close(pop);
 
 	DONE(NULL);
diff --git a/src/test/obj_fragmentation2/obj_fragmentation2.c b/src/test/obj_fragmentation2/obj_fragmentation2.c
index 89252345b94c832ee1ffeb98b85000210ec4ce66..809e08bc193f4fad895888a9c25246d6d799751a 100644
--- a/src/test/obj_fragmentation2/obj_fragmentation2.c
+++ b/src/test/obj_fragmentation2/obj_fragmentation2.c
@@ -236,9 +236,6 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	objects = ZALLOC(sizeof(PMEMoid) * MAX_OBJECTS);
 	UT_ASSERTne(objects, NULL);
 
-	int enabled = 1;
-	pmemobj_ctl_set(pop, "stats.enabled", &enabled);
-
 	workloads[w](pop);
 
 	/* this is to trigger global recycling */