Organization and Description of Business (Narrative) (Details)	Sep. 14, 2017	Dec. 31, 2017 property	Dec. 31, 2016 property
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		205	187
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. common stock conversion ratio (in shares)	0.545
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. common unit conversion ratio (in shares)	0.545
Common Interest
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in the Operating Partnership		96.00%	98.50%
Preferred Interest
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in the Operating Partnership		100.00%
North America
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		152	140
Europe
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		38	37
Asia
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		7	4
Australia
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		5	4
Canada
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		3	2
Operating Properties
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		180	169
Operating Properties | North America
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		131	123
Operating Properties | Europe
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		38	37
Operating Properties | Asia
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		3	3
Operating Properties | Australia
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		5	4
Operating Properties | Canada
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		3	2
Held-for-Sale Properties
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		7	3
Held-for-Sale Properties | North America
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		7	3
Held-for-Sale Properties | Europe
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		0	0
Held-for-Sale Properties | Asia
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		0	0
Held-for-Sale Properties | Australia
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		0	0
Held-for-Sale Properties | Canada
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		0	0
Unconsolidated Properties
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		18	15
Unconsolidated Properties | North America
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		14	14
Unconsolidated Properties | Europe
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		0	0
Unconsolidated Properties | Asia
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		4	1
Unconsolidated Properties | Australia
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		0	0
Unconsolidated Properties | Canada
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		0	0
Series C Preferred Stock and Unit
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Series C preferred stock, dividend rate	6.625%
DuPont Fabros Technology
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		15
DuPont Fabros Technology | North America
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		14
DuPont Fabros Technology | Canada
Organization and Description of Business [Line Items]
Number of real estate properties		1