Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Feb. 21, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2018
Common Stock, Value, Issued	$ (8,000,000)		$ (13.05)	$ (8,000,000)
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
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 Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		662,358,244
Entity current reporting status	Yes
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity voluntary filers	No
Entity Well Known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Public Float					$ 8,630,000,000
Common Stock, Par or Stated Value Per Share	$ 0.01			$ 0.01