Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011		Sep. 30, 2011		Jun. 30, 2011		Mar. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2010		Sep. 30, 2010		Jun. 30, 2010		Mar. 31, 2010		Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Net sales	$ 849,987		$ 709,322		$ 662,382		$ 614,157		$ 790,994		$ 748,620		$ 665,180		$ 618,999		$ 2,835,848	$ 2,823,793	$ 2,718,292
Gross profit	222,649		194,386		169,490		149,404		189,517		193,894		178,144		158,010		735,929	719,565	650,000
Income (loss) from continuing operations	83,047		42,782		21,602		4,146		(118,657)		45,434		31,073		25,192		151,577	(16,958)	79,330
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax	5		0		529		(11)		(115)		2,043		(683)		(970)		523	275	(9,884)
Net income (loss)	83,052		42,782		22,131		4,135		(118,772)		47,477		30,390		24,222		152,100	(16,683)	32,254
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	3,297		1,027		1,327		1,634		1,240		1,372		659		298		7,285	3,569	6,228
Net income (loss) attributable to Diebold, Incorporated	79,755		41,755		20,804		2,501		(120,012)		46,105		29,731		23,924		144,815	(20,252)	26,026
Additional tax benefit											2,147
Basic earnings per share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax	$ 1.27		$ 0.66		$ 0.31		$ 0.04		$ (1.83)		$ 0.67		$ 0.46		$ 0.38		$ 2.24	$ (0.31)	$ 1.10
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax	$ 0.00		$ 0.00		$ 0.01		$ 0.00		$ 0.00		$ 0.03		$ (0.01)		$ (0.02)		$ 0.01	$ 0.00	$ (0.71)
Net income (loss) attributable to Diebold, Incorporated	$ 1.27		$ 0.66		$ 0.32		$ 0.04		$ (1.83)		$ 0.70		$ 0.45		$ 0.36		$ 2.25	$ (0.31)	$ 0.39
Diluted earnings per share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of tax	$ 1.26		$ 0.65		$ 0.31		$ 0.04		$ (1.83)		$ 0.66		$ 0.46		$ 0.37		$ 2.23	$ (0.31)	$ 1.09
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax	$ 0.00		$ 0.00		$ 0.01		$ 0.00		$ 0.00		$ 0.03		$ (0.01)		$ (0.01)		$ 0.01	$ 0.00	$ (0.70)
Net income (loss) attributable to Diebold, Incorporated	$ 1.26		$ 0.65		$ 0.32		$ 0.04		$ (1.83)		$ 0.69		$ 0.45		$ 0.36		$ 2.24	$ (0.31)	$ 0.39
Basic weighted-average shares outstanding	62,599,000		63,626,000		65,028,000		65,762,000		65,686,000		65,705,000		65,936,000		66,298,000		64,244,000	65,907,000	66,257,000
Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding	63,300,000	[1]	64,186,000	[1]	65,482,000	[1]	66,230,000	[1]	65,686,000	[1]	66,421,000	[1]	66,636,000	[1]	66,776,000	[1]	64,792,000	65,907,000	66,867,000
Incremental Shares, Excluded From Dilutive Calculation, Due To Resulting in Operating Loss									844,000									632,000
Revenue Recognition [Member]
Revenues											(19,822)							(19,822)
Brazil
Valuation Allowance, Amount	$ 28,000																$ 28,000

[1] Incremental shares of 844,000 were excluded from the computation of diluted EPS for quarter ended December 31, 2010 because their effect is anti-dilutive due to the loss from continuing operations.