SQL Anywhere uses statistical information to determine the most efficient strategy for executing each statement. SQL Anywhere automatically gathers and updates these statistics, and stores them permanently in the database. Statistics gathered while processing one statement are available when searching for efficient ways to execute subsequent statements.

By default, SQL Anywhere creates statistics for all tables with five or more rows. If you need to create statistics for a table with less than five rows, you can do so using the CREATE STATISTICS statement. This statement creates statistics for all tables, regardless of how many rows are in a table. Once created, the statistics are automatically maintained by SQL Anywhere. See CREATE STATISTICS statement.