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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName T. Rowe Price Institutional International Funds, Inc.
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Mar. 01, 2016
T. Rowe Price Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading SUMMARY

T. Rowe Price Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The fund seeks long-term growth of capital.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Fees and Expenses of the Fund

Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a
percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination February 28, 2017
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 48.0% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 48.00%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, the fund’s operating expenses remain the same, and the expense limitation currently in place is not renewed. The figures have been adjusted to reflect fee waivers or expense reimbursements only in the periods for which the expense limitation arrangement is expected to continue. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Investments, Risks, and Performance

Principal Investment Strategies
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets (including any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities and equity-related investments of companies that are located in, or that have economic ties to, countries considered to be frontier markets. For purposes of determining whether the fund invests at least 80% in frontier markets, the fund relies on the country assigned to a security by MSCI, Inc. or another unaffiliated data provider. The fund may purchase securities issued by companies of any size, but typically seeks larger companies to the extent opportunities are available within frontier markets. The fund expects to make most of its investments in companies in frontier markets in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Frontier markets are those markets which are not as developed as emerging markets. The fund considers a country to be a frontier market if it is not included in the MSCI All Country World Index, which contains all of the countries that MSCI has classified as either a developed market or emerging market. The countries that are considered frontier markets may change over time based on how they are classified by MSCI. The fund expects to seek investments in the frontier markets listed below (other countries may be added or listed countries may be removed):
  • Africa and Middle East: Bahrain, Botswana, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
  • Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
  • Europe: Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.
  • Latin America: Argentina, Jamaica, Panama, and Trinidad & Tobago.
The fund is “nondiversified,” meaning it may invest a greater portion of assets in a single company and own more of the company’s voting securities than is permissible for a “diversified” fund. Most of the fund’s assets will be invested directly in common stocks. The fund may also gain exposure to common stocks by purchasing participation notes (“P-notes”) that offer a return linked to a particular common stock. P-notes are primarily used to invest indirectly in certain stocks that trade in a market that restricts foreign investors, such as the fund, from investing directly in that market.

While the adviser invests with an awareness of the global economic backdrop and the adviser’s outlook for certain industries, sectors, and individual countries, the adviser’s decision-making process focuses on bottom-up stock selection. Country allocation is driven largely by stock selection, though the adviser may limit investments in markets or industries that appear to have poor overall prospects. The growth of certain frontier market countries relies heavily on the success of the banking industry. As a result, the fund expects to concentrate its investments (i.e., invest more than 25% of its total assets) in securities issued by banks and other financial services companies.

The fund relies on a global team of investment analysts dedicated to in-depth fundamental research in an effort to identify quality companies with strong cash flows and sustainable growth potential, and does not emphasize either a growth or value bias when identifying potential investments. The fund’s investments may at times include securities of companies that are in the process of being privatized by a government, securities of companies that trade in unregulated over-the-counter markets or other types of unlisted securities markets, and unregistered securities issued in private placements. In managing the fund’s portfolio, we principally employ a bottom-up approach to identify particular securities for investment. Research analysts conduct proprietary industry and company analysis to assess companies’ prospects while also considering macroeconomic factors that could limit opportunities in certain regions or frontier markets overall. The fund generally looks for companies with an attractive industry structure, compelling fundamentals, proven management team, and/or strong valuation upside.

The fund may sell securities for a variety of reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses, or redeploy assets into more promising opportunities.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Risks
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock As with any mutual fund, there is no guarantee that the fund will achieve its objective. The fund’s share price fluctuates, which means you could lose money by investing in the fund. The principal risks of investing in this fund are summarized as follows:

Active management risk The fund is subject to the risk that the investment adviser’s judgments about the attractiveness, value, or potential appreciation of the fund’s investments may prove to be incorrect. If the investments selected and strategies employed by the fund fail to produce the intended results, the fund could underperform in comparison to other funds with similar objectives and investment strategies.

Risks of stock investing Stocks generally fluctuate in value more than bonds and may decline significantly over short time periods. There is a chance that stock prices overall will decline because stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising and falling prices. The value of a stock in which the fund invests may decline due to general weakness in the stock market, or because of factors that affect a particular company or industry.

P-note risks To the extent the fund invests in P-notes, it is subject to certain risks in addition to the risks normally associated with a direct investment in the underlying foreign securities the P-note seeks to replicate. As the purchaser of a P-note, the fund is relying on the creditworthiness of the counterparty issuing the P-note and does not have the same rights under a P-note as it would as a shareholder of the underlying issuer. Therefore, if a counterparty becomes insolvent, the fund could lose the total value of its investment in the P-note. In addition, there is no assurance that there will be a trading market for a P-note or that the trading price of a P-note will equal the value of the underlying security.

International investing risk Investing in the securities of non-U.S. issuers involves special risks not typically associated with investing in U.S. issuers. International securities tend to be more volatile and less liquid than investments in U.S. securities and may lose value because of adverse local, political, social, or economic developments overseas, or due to changes in the exchange rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar. In addition, international investments are subject to settlement practices and regulatory and financial reporting standards that differ from those of the U.S.

Frontier markets risk The risks of international investing are heightened for investments in emerging market and frontier market countries. Emerging and frontier market countries tend to have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed market countries. In addition to all of the risks of investing in international developed markets, emerging and frontier markets tend to have less liquid and efficient trading markets and are more susceptible to governmental interference, local taxes being imposed on international investments, and restrictions on gaining access to sales proceeds. Frontier markets generally have smaller economies or less mature capital markets than emerging markets and, as a result, the risks typically associated with investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier countries. Adverse changes in currency values of frontier market countries may be severe and settlement procedures and custody services may prove inadequate in certain markets. The markets of frontier countries typically have low trading volumes and the potential for extreme price volatility and illiquidity. This volatility may be further increased by the actions of a few major investors. For example, a substantial increase or decrease in cash flows of mutual funds investing in these markets could significantly affect local stock prices and, therefore, the net asset value of the fund. All of these factors make investing in frontier countries significantly riskier than investing in other countries, including emerging market countries.

Banking industry risk Because the fund invests significantly in banking and financial services companies, the fund is more susceptible to adverse developments affecting such companies and may perform poorly during a downturn in the banking industry. Banks and other financial services companies can be adversely affected by, among other things, regulatory changes, interest rate movements, the availability of capital and cost to borrow, and the rate of debt defaults. The oversight of banks in frontier markets may be ineffective and underdeveloped relative to more mature markets. In particular for frontier markets, the impact of future regulation on any individual bank, or on the financial services sector as a whole, can be very difficult to predict.

Nondiversification risk As a nondiversified fund, the fund has the ability to invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, poor performance by a single issuer could adversely affect fund performance more than if the fund were invested in a larger number of issuers. The fund’s share price can be expected to fluctuate more than that of a comparable diversified fund.

Market capitalization risk The fund’s focus on large sized companies subjects the fund to the risk that larger companies may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods, and they may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes. Because the fund may invest in companies of any size, its share price could be more volatile than a fund that invests only in large companies. Small and medium sized companies typically have less experienced management, narrower product lines, more limited financial resources, and less publicly available information than larger companies.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney The fund’s share price fluctuates, which means you could lose money by investing in the fund.
Risk Nondiversified Status [Text] rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus Nondiversification risk As a nondiversified fund, the fund has the ability to invest a larger percentage of its assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. As a result, poor performance by a single issuer could adversely affect fund performance more than if the fund were invested in a larger number of issuers. The fund’s share price can be expected to fluctuate more than that of a comparable diversified fund.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock The bar chart showing calendar year returns and the average annual total returns table provide some indications of the risks of investing in the fund by showing how much returns can differ from year to year and how the fund’s average annual returns for certain periods compare with the returns of a relevant broad-based market index, as well as with the returns of other comparative indexes that have investment characteristics similar to those of the fund. The fund’s performance information represents only past performance (before and after taxes) and is not necessarily an indication of future results.

The fund can also experience short-term performance swings, as shown by the best and worst calendar quarter returns during the year depicted.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The bar chart showing calendar year returns and the average annual total returns table provide some indications of the risks of investing in the fund by showing how much returns can differ from year to year and how the fund’s average annual returns for certain periods compare with the returns of a relevant broad-based market index, as well as with the returns of other comparative indexes that have investment characteristics similar to those of the fund.
Performance Availability Phone [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityPhone 1-800-638-8790
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress troweprice.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The fund’s performance information represents only past performance (before and after taxes) and is not necessarily an indication of future results.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund
Calendar Year Return
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock
  Quarter
 Ended		  Total
Return
Best Quarter   12/31/15  1.98%
Worst Quarter  9/30/15 -12.37%
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns

Periods ended
December 31, 2015
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as a 401(k) account or individual retirement account.
Performance Table Explanation after Tax Higher rr_PerformanceTableExplanationAfterTaxHigher In some cases, the figure shown for “returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares” may be higher than the figure shown for “returns before taxes” because the calculations assume the investor received a tax deduction for any loss incurred on the sale of shares.
Performance Table Narrative rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock In addition, the average annual total returns table shows hypothetical after-tax returns to demonstrate how taxes paid by a shareholder may influence returns. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as a 401(k) account or individual retirement account. In some cases, the figure shown for “returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares” may be higher than the figure shown for “returns before taxes” because the calculations assume the investor received a tax deduction for any loss incurred on the sale of shares.
Performance Table Closing [Text Block] rr_PerformanceTableClosingTextBlock Updated performance information is available through troweprice.com or may be obtained by calling 1-800-638-8790.
T. Rowe Price Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund | T. Rowe Price Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for 90 days or less) rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption 2.00%
Management fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 1.10%
Other expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.74%
Total annual fund operating expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.84%
Fee waiver/expense reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.49%) [1]
Total annual fund operating expenses after fee waiver/expense reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 1.35% [1]
1 year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 137
3 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 531
5 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 950
10 years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 2,118
2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (12.83%)
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2015
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 1.98%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2015
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (12.37%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (12.83%)
Since inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception (17.64%)
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Sep. 22, 2014
T. Rowe Price Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund | Returns after taxes on distributions | T. Rowe Price Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (13.27%)
Since inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception (17.99%)
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Sep. 22, 2014
T. Rowe Price Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund | Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares | T. Rowe Price Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (6.97%)
Since inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception (13.39%)
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Sep. 22, 2014
T. Rowe Price Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund | MSCI Frontier Markets Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (14.07%)
Since inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception (20.46%)
T. Rowe Price Institutional Frontier Markets Equity Fund | Lipper Emerging Markets Funds Average  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (14.08%)
Since inception rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception (15.29%) [2]
Inception Date rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Sep. 30, 2014
[1] T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. has agreed (through February 28, 2017) to waive its fees and/or bear any expenses (excluding interest, expenses related to borrowings, taxes and brokerage, extraordinary expenses, and acquired fund fees) that would cause the fund’s ratio of expenses to average daily net assets to exceed 1.35%. Termination of the agreement would require approval by the fund’s Board of Directors. Fees waived and expenses paid under this agreement are subject to reimbursement to T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. by the fund whenever the fund’s expense ratio is below 1.35%. However, no reimbursement will be made more than three years after the waiver or payment, or if it would result in the expense ratio exceeding 1.35% (excluding interest, expenses related to borrowings, taxes and brokerage, extraordinary expenses, and acquired fund fees).
[2] Returns as of 9/30/14.