Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018		Sep. 29, 2018		Jun. 30, 2018		Mar. 31, 2018		Dec. 31, 2017		Sep. 30, 2017		Jul. 01, 2017		Apr. 01, 2017		Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Numerator for basic earnings (loss) per share:
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 102,419		$ 77,876		$ 103,097		$ 62,366		$ (177,657)		$ 64,404		$ 56,190		$ 36,719		$ 345,758	$ (20,344)	$ 48,792
Interest savings assuming conversion of dilutive convertible and exchangeable notes, net of tax																	0	0	38
Numerator for diluted earnings (loss) per share:
Net earnings (loss) attributed to Vishay stockholders - diluted																	$ 345,758	$ (20,344)	$ 48,830
Denominator for basic earnings (loss) per share:
Weighted average shares																	144,202	145,478	147,009
Incremental outstanding phantom stock units																	168	155	143
Adjusted weighted average shares outstanding - basic																	144,370	145,633	147,152
Effect of dilutive securities:
Convertible and exchangeable debt instruments (in shares)																	9,707	0	3,219
Restricted stock units (in shares)																	545	0	323
Other (in shares)																	0	0	3
Dilutive potential common shares (in shares)																	10,252	0	3,545
Denominator for diluted earnings (loss) per share:
Adjusted weighted average shares - diluted																	154,622	145,633	150,697
Basic earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.71	[1]	$ 0.54	[1]	$ 0.71	[1]	$ 0.43	[1]	$ (1.23)	[1]	$ 0.44	[1]	$ 0.38	[1]	$ 0.25	[1]	$ 2.39	$ (0.14)	$ 0.33
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	0.69	[1]	$ 0.51	[1]	$ 0.65	[1]	$ 0.39	[1]	$ (1.23)	[1]	$ 0.41	[1]	$ 0.36	[1]	$ 0.24	[1]	$ 2.24	$ (0.14)	$ 0.32
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	21,184	10,312
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)	12.76																$ 12.76
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)																	0	8,432	8,249
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)	17.48																$ 17.48
Convertible Senior Debentures 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	13,586	0
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)	10.85																$ 10.85
Weighted average 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)																	0	26	91
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)																	266	981	512
Convertible Senior Notes, Due 2025 [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)																	10,468	0	0
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)	$ 31.49																$ 31.49

[1] May not add due to differences in weighted average share counts.