EARNINGS PER SHARE CALCULATIONS (Earnings Per Share Calculation - Basic) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012		Sep. 30, 2011		Sep. 30, 2012		Sep. 30, 2011
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net income, basic	$ 0.50		$ 0.78		$ 1.58		$ 2.35
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, basic	$ (0.01)		$ 0.00		$ (0.03)		$ (0.02)
Net income attributable to The Dow Chemical Company, basic	$ 0.49		$ 0.78		$ 1.55		$ 2.33
Preferred stock dividends, basic	$ (0.07)		$ (0.07)		$ (0.22)		$ (0.22)
Net income attributable to participating securities, basic	$ 0.00	[1]	$ (0.01)	[1]	$ (0.01)	[1]	$ (0.03)	[1]
Net income attributable to common stockholders, basic	$ 0.42		$ 0.70		$ 1.32		$ 2.08

[1] Accounting Standards Codification Topic 260, "Earnings per Share," requires enterprises with participating securities to use the two-class method to calculate earnings per share and to report the most dilutive earnings per share amount. Deferred stock awards are considered participating securities due to Dow's practice of paying dividend equivalents on unvested shares.