Paraguay lost 25–33% of its territory to Argentina and Brazil, was forced to pay an enormous war debt and to sell large amounts of national properties in order to restore its internal budget. But the worst consequence of the war was the catastrophic loss of population. At least 50% of the Paraguayans died during the conflict, numbers which took many decades for the country to return to. About the disaster suffered by the Paraguayans at the outcome of the war, William D. Rubinstein wrote: