Label	Element	Value
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Registrant Name	dei_EntityRegistrantName	VANGUARD WHITEHALL FUNDS
Prospectus Date	rr_ProspectusDate	Feb. 28, 2025
Admiral | Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk/Return [Heading]	rr_RiskReturnHeading	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:13pt;font-weight:bold;">Fund Summary</span>
Objective [Heading]	rr_ObjectiveHeading	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Investment Objective</span>
Objective, Primary [Text Block]	rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock	The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued by governments and government-related issuers in emerging market countries.
Expense [Heading]	rr_ExpenseHeading	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Fees and Expenses</span>
Expense Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock	The following tables describe the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold, and sell Admiral Shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and example below.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text]	rr_ShareholderFeesCaption	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;">Shareholder Fees</span> <br/><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;">(Fees paid directly from your investment)</span>
Operating Expenses Caption [Text]	rr_OperatingExpensesCaption	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;">Annual Fund Operating Expenses</span> <br/><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;">(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)</span>
Portfolio Turnover [Heading]	rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">Portfolio Turnover</span>
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 more taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the previous expense example, reduce the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 24% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate	rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate	24.00%
Expense Example [Heading]	rr_ExpenseExampleHeading	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">Example</span>
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block]	rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock	The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund’s Admiral Shares with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. It illustrates the hypothetical expenses that you would incur over various periods if you were to invest $10,000 in the Fund’s shares. This example assumes that the shares provide a return of 5% each year and that total annual fund operating expenses remain as stated in the preceding table. You would incur these hypothetical expenses whether or not you were to redeem your investment at the end of the given period. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading]	rr_StrategyHeading	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Principal Investment Strategies</span>
Strategy Narrative [Text Block]	rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock	The Fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the Bloomberg USD Emerging Markets Government RIC Capped Index (the Index). This Index includes U.S. dollar-denominated bonds that have maturities longer than one year and that were issued by emerging market governments and government-related issuers. The Index is capped, which means that its exposure to any particular bond issuer is limited to a maximum of 20% and its aggregate exposure to issuers that individually constitute 5% or more of the Index is limited to 48%. If the Index, as constituted based on market weights, exceeds the 20% or 48% limits, the excess is reallocated to bonds of other issuers represented in the Index.The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund’s investments will be selected through the sampling process, and under normal circumstances at least 80% of the Fund’s assets will be invested in bonds included in the Index. The Fund maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the Index. As of October 31, 2024, the dollar-weighted average maturity of the Index was 12 years.
Risk [Heading]	rr_RiskHeading	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Principal Risks</span>
Risk [Text Block]	rr_RiskTextBlock	• Country/regional risk, which is the chance that world events—such as political upheaval, financial troubles, or natural disasters—will adversely affect the value and/or liquidity of securities issued by foreign governments, government agencies, and government-owned corporations. Because the Fund may invest a large portion of its assets in bonds of issuers located in any one country or region, the Fund’s performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of its investments in that area. Country/regional risk is especially high in emerging markets.• Emerging markets risk, which is the chance that the bonds of governments, government agencies, and government-owned corporations located in emerging markets will be substantially more volatile, and substantially less liquid, than the bonds of governments, government agencies, and government-owned corporations located in more developed foreign markets because, among other factors, emerging markets can have greater custodial and operational risks; less developed legal, tax, regulatory, financial reporting, accounting, and recordkeeping systems; and greater political, social, and economic instability than developed markets. Emerging markets risk is high for the Fund.• Credit risk, which is the chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest or principal in a timely manner or that negative perceptions of the issuer’s ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Credit risk should be high for the Fund because it invests a large portion of its assets in bonds rated below investment-grade (also known as high-yield or junk bonds).• Liquidity risk, which is the chance that the Fund may not be able to sell a security in a timely manner at a desired price.• Interest rate risk, which is the chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates. Interest rate risk should be moderate for the Fund because it invests primarily in short- and intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds.• Income risk, which is the chance that the Fund’s income will decline because of falling interest rates. Income risk should be moderate for the Fund, so investors should expect the Fund’s monthly income to fluctuate accordingly.• Index-related risks. The Fund is subject to risks associated with index investing, which include passive management risk, tracking error risk, and index provider risk. Passive management risk is the chance that the Fund’s use of an indexing strategy will negatively impact the Fund’s performance. Because the Fund seeks to track the performance of its target index regardless of how that index is performing, the Fund’s performance may be lower than it would be if the Fund were actively managed. Tracking error risk is the chance that the Fund’s performance will deviate from the performance of its target index. Tracking error risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or under other unusual market conditions. Index provider risk is the chance that the Fund will be negatively impacted by changes or errors made by the index provider. Any gains, losses, or costs associated with or resulting from an error made by the index provider will generally be borne by the Fund and, as a result, the Fund’s shareholders.• Index sampling risk, which is the chance that the securities selected for the Fund, in the aggregate, will not provide investment performance matching that of the Fund’s target index. Index sampling risk for the Fund is expected to be low.• Call risk, which is the chance that during periods of falling interest rates, issuers of callable bonds may call (redeem) securities with higher coupon rates or interest rates before their maturity dates. The Fund would then lose any price appreciation above the bond’s call price and would be forced to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income. Such redemptions and subsequent reinvestments would also increase the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate.• Extension risk, which is the chance that during periods of rising interest rates, certain debt securities will be paid off substantially more slowly than originally anticipated, and the value of those securities may fall.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading]	rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold;">Annual Total Returns</span>
Performance Narrative [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock	The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund’s Admiral Shares (including annual fund operating expenses but excluding shareholder fees) has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. If applicable shareholder fees were reflected, returns would be less than those shown in the bar chart. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the Admiral Shares (including annual fund operating expenses and any applicable shareholder fees) compare with those of the Fund’s target index and another comparative index, which have investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund. Keep in mind that the Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available on our website at vanguard.com/performance.
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text]	rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns	<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">The following bar chart and table are intended to help you understand the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Fund’s Admiral Shares (including annual fund operating expenses but excluding shareholder fees) has varied from one calendar year to another over the periods shown. If applicable shareholder fees were reflected, returns would be less than those shown in the bar chart. The table shows how the average annual total returns of the Admiral Shares (including annual fund operating expenses and any applicable shareholder fees) compare with those of the Fund’s target index and another comparative index, which have investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund.</span>
Performance Availability Website Address [Text]	rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress	<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;font-style:italic;">vanguard.com/performance</span>
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text]	rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture	<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;"> Keep in mind that the Fund’s past performance (before and </span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">after taxes) does not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future.</span>
Bar Chart [Heading]	rr_BarChartHeading	<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;font-weight:bold;">Annual Total Returns — Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund Admiral Shares</span>
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block]	rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock	During the periods shown in the bar chart, the highest and lowest returns for a calendar quarter were:
Performance Table Heading	rr_PerformanceTableHeading	<span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:8.5pt;font-weight:bold;">Average Annual Total Returns for Periods Ended December 31, 2024</span>
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate	rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">When after-tax returns are calculated, it is </span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. </span>
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred	rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">Please note that after-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder </span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. </span>
Performance Table Explanation after Tax Higher	rr_PerformanceTableExplanationAfterTaxHigher	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;">Also, figures captioned </span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;font-style:italic;">Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares</span><span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:9.5pt;"> may be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder.</span>
Performance Table Closing [Text Block]	rr_PerformanceTableClosingTextBlock	Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown in the preceding table. When after-tax returns are calculated, it is assumed that the shareholder was in the highest individual federal marginal income tax bracket at the time of each distribution of income or capital gains or upon redemption. State and local income taxes are not reflected in the calculations. Please note that after-tax returns are not relevant for a shareholder who holds fund shares in a tax-deferred account, such as an individual retirement account or a 401(k) plan. Also, figures captioned Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares may be higher than other figures for the same period if a capital loss occurs upon redemption and results in an assumed tax deduction for the shareholder.
Admiral | Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund | Risk Lose Money [Member]
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk [Text Block]	rr_RiskTextBlock	An investment in the Fund could lose money over short or long periods of time.
Admiral | Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund | Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Member]
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk [Text Block]	rr_RiskTextBlock	An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Admiral | Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund | Nondiversification Risk [Member]
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Risk [Text Block]	rr_RiskTextBlock	• Nondiversification risk, which is the chance that the Fund’s performance may be hurt disproportionately by the poor performance of relatively few bonds issued by just a few issuers or even a single issuer. The Fund is considered nondiversified, which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the bonds issued by a small number of particular issuers as compared with diversified mutual funds.
Admiral | Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund | Admiral Shares
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
Purchase Fee	rr_MaximumCumulativeSalesChargeOverOther	0.75%
Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases	rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice	none
Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends	rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther	none
Redemption Fee	rr_RedemptionFeeOverRedemption	none
Account Service Fee Per Year (for certain fund account balances below $5,000,000)	rr_MaximumAccountFee	$ 25
Management Fees	rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets	0.19%
12b-1 Distribution Fee	rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets	none
Other Expenses	rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets	0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses	rr_ExpensesOverAssets	0.20%
1 Year	rr_ExpenseExampleYear01	$ 95
3 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear03	139
5 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear05	187
10 Years	rr_ExpenseExampleYear10	$ 328
2015	rr_AnnualReturn2015	1.62%
2016	rr_AnnualReturn2016	9.83%
2017	rr_AnnualReturn2017	8.45%
2018	rr_AnnualReturn2018	(2.77%)
2019	rr_AnnualReturn2019	14.00%
2020	rr_AnnualReturn2020	5.81%
2021	rr_AnnualReturn2021	(1.93%)
Annual Return 2022	rr_AnnualReturn2022	(16.67%)
2023	rr_AnnualReturn2023	10.44%
2024	rr_AnnualReturn2024	5.74%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;margin-left:0.0pt;">Highest</span>
Highest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate	Jun. 30, 2020
Highest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn	11.67%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label	rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel	<span style="color:#000000;font-family:Arial;font-size:8pt;margin-left:0.0pt;">Lowest</span>
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate	Mar. 31, 2020
Lowest Quarterly Return	rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn	(12.63%)
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	4.95%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	0.04%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	3.00%
Admiral | Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund | Return After Taxes on Distributions | Admiral Shares
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	2.40%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(2.00%)
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	0.95%
Admiral | Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | Admiral Shares
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	2.89%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(0.84%)
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	1.40%
Admiral | Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund | Bloomberg USD Emerging Markets Government RIC Capped Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	5.91%
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	0.16%
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	3.11%
Admiral | Vanguard Emerging Markets Government Bond Index Fund | Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index ex USD (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
Risk Return Abstract	rr_RiskReturnAbstract
1 Year	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01	(4.22%)
5 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05	(3.37%)
10 Years	rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10	(0.90%)