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Countries of operation

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The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

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The number of countries in which the entity operates as of balance sheet date.

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Amount, excluding tax collected from customer, of revenue from satisfaction of performance obligation by transferring promised good or service to customer. Tax collected from customer is tax assessed by governmental authority that is both imposed on and concurrent with specific revenue-producing transaction, including, but not limited to, sales, use, value added and excise.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - General Information and Basis of Presentation (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 21,609	$ 20,404	$ 19,747
Number of Eaton employees	99,000
Countries of operation	59
Countries where products are sold	175
Investments in associate companies [Line Items]
Equity method of accounting, ownership interest (in percentage)				50.00%
Minimum [Member]
Investments in associate companies [Line Items]
Equity method of accounting, ownership interest (in percentage)	20.00%
Maximum [Member]
Investments in associate companies [Line Items]
Equity method of accounting, ownership interest (in percentage)	50.00%