Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Consolidated Statements of Operations [Abstract]
Net revenues	$ 2,501,898	$ 2,668,305	$ 3,034,689
Costs of products sold	1,919,995	1,997,105	2,146,165
Gross profit	581,903	671,200	888,524
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	371,450	384,631	403,404
Restructuring and severance costs	743	24,139	0
Operating income	209,710	262,430	485,120
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(31,555)	(33,683)	(36,680)
Other	(11,754)	(419)	(5,081)
Loss on early extinguishment of debt	(8,073)	(2,030)	(26,583)
Total other income (expense)	(51,382)	(36,132)	(68,344)
Income before taxes	158,328	226,298	416,776
Income tax expense	34,545	61,508	70,239
Net earnings (loss)	123,783	164,790	346,537
Less: net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	860	854	779
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 122,923	$ 163,936	$ 345,758
Basic earnings (loss) per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.85	$ 1.13	$ 2.39
Diluted earnings (loss) per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.85	$ 1.13	$ 2.24
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic (in shares)	144,836	144,608	144,370
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted (in shares)	145,228	145,136	154,622
Cash dividends per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.3800	$ 0.3700	$ 0.3225