Provisions for Other Liabilities and Charges - Additional Information (Detail) £ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2018 GBP (£)
Disclosure of other provisions [abstract]
Liability provision	£ 84

Maximum deferred consideration payable over and above managements best estimate relating to provisions.

No definition available.

Name:	pso_MaximumDeferredConsiderationPayableOverAndAboveManagementsBestEstimateRelatingToProvisions
Namespace Prefix:	pso_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant