Document And Entity Information - $ / shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	May 01, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Incorporation, State Country Name	Delaware
Entity Address, Address Line One	4300 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, Virginia
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2019
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
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		663,727,053
Common Stock, Par or Stated Value Per Share	$ 0.01		$ 0.01
Entity Listing, Description	New York Stock Exchange
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	22203