Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Oct. 01, 2016	Oct. 03, 2015	Oct. 01, 2016	Oct. 03, 2015
Numerator for basic earnings per share:
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 36,440	$ (27,666)	$ 97,540	$ 29,301
Adjustment to the numerator for continuing operations and net earnings:
Interest savings assuming conversion of dilutive convertible and exchangeable notes, net of tax	0	0	38	50
Numerator for diluted earnings per share:
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders - diluted	$ 36,440	$ (27,666)	$ 97,578	$ 29,351
Denominator for basic earnings per share:
Weighted average shares	146,781	147,570	147,327	147,570
Outstanding phantom stock units	143	131	143	130
Adjusted weighted average shares (basic)	146,924	147,701	147,470	147,700
Effect of dilutive securities:
Convertible and exchangeable debt instruments	2,541	0	2,387	3,692
Restricted stock units	423	0	266	213
Other	6	0	2	2
Dilutive potential common shares	2,970	0	2,655	3,907
Denominator for diluted earnings per share:
Adjusted weighted average shares (diluted)	149,894	147,701	150,125	151,607
Basic earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.25	$ (0.19)	$ 0.66	$ 0.20
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.24	$ (0.19)	$ 0.65	$ 0.19
Convertible Senior Debentures, Due 2040 [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)	0	20,364	13,750	13,537
Minimum market price of common stock for inclusion of shares issuable upon conversion of senior debentures for calculation of diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 13.19		$ 13.19
Convertible Senior Debentures, Due 2041 [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)	8,268	8,106	8,229	8,063
Minimum market price of common stock for inclusion of shares issuable upon conversion of senior debentures for calculation of diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 18.08		$ 18.08
Convertible Senior Debentures, Due 2042 [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)	0	13,060	0	4,353
Minimum market price of common stock for inclusion of shares issuable upon conversion of senior debentures for calculation of diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 11.22		$ 11.22
Weighted average employees stock options [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)	77	105	96	96
Weighted average other [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)	415	1,059	545	768
Exchangeable Unsecured Notes, Due 2102 [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)	0	2,512	0	0