Debt of the Operating Partnership (Weighted-average Interest Rate by Denomination of Draw) (Details) - Digital Realty Trust, L.P. $ in Thousands	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($) $ / SGD $ / ¥ $ / £ $ / CAD $ / AUD $ / HKD	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / SGD $ / ¥ $ / £ $ / CAD $ / AUD $ / HKD
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 6,490,791
Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 1,525,971	$ 1,488,498
Weighted-average interest rate	2.12%	1.93%
Interest Rate Swap | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	2.33%	2.23%
U.S. dollar ($) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 710,911	$ 710,911
Weighted-average interest rate	2.44%	1.99%
U.S. dollar ($) | Interest Rate Swap | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	2.72%	2.45%
British pound sterling (£) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 220,741	$ 209,132
Weighted-average interest rate	1.35%	1.36%
Exchange rate | $ / £	1.30	1.23
British pound sterling (£) | Interest Rate Swap | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.89%	1.89%
Singapore dollar (SGD) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 234,538	$ 222,824
Weighted-average interest rate	1.80%	1.76%
Exchange rate | $ / SGD	0.73	0.69
Singapore dollar (SGD) | Interest Rate Swap | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate		1.90%
Australian dollar (AUD) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 181,691	$ 170,325
Weighted-average interest rate	2.72%	2.72%
Exchange rate | $ / AUD	0.77	0.72
Hong Kong dollar (HKD) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 85,462	$ 86,029
Weighted-average interest rate	1.49%	1.77%
Exchange rate | $ / HKD	0.13	0.13
Canadian dollar (CAD) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 75,983	$ 73,294
Weighted-average interest rate	1.94%	2.00%
Exchange rate | $ / CAD	0.77	0.74
Canadian dollar (CAD) | Interest Rate Swap | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.88%	1.88%
Japanese yen (JPY) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 16,645	$ 15,983
Weighted-average interest rate	1.07%	0.98%
Exchange rate | $ / ¥	0.01	0.01