Document And Entity Information - $ / shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	AES
Entity Registrant Name	AES CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000874761
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	661,683,466
Common Stock, Par or Stated Value Per Share	$ 0.01	$ 0.01