Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Feb. 15, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	IFF
Entity Registrant Name	INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000051253
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		106,633,296
Entity Public Float			$ 9,798,569,059