Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Oct. 01, 2016	Sep. 30, 2017	Oct. 01, 2016
Numerator for basic earnings per share:
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders	$ 64,404	$ 36,440	$ 157,313	$ 97,540
Adjustment to the numerator for continuing operations and net earnings:
Interest savings assuming conversion of dilutive convertible and exchangeable notes, net of tax	0	0	0	38
Numerator for diluted earnings per share:
Net earnings attributable to Vishay stockholders - diluted	$ 64,404	$ 36,440	$ 157,313	$ 97,578
Denominator for basic earnings per share:
Weighted average shares	145,572	146,781	145,973	147,327
Outstanding phantom stock units	156	143	155	143
Adjusted weighted average shares (basic)	145,728	146,924	146,128	147,470
Effect of dilutive securities:
Convertible and exchangeable debt instruments	10,480	2,541	9,160	2,387
Restricted stock units	493	423	338	266
Other	0	6	0	2
Dilutive potential common shares	10,973	2,970	9,498	2,655
Denominator for diluted earnings per share:
Adjusted weighted average shares (diluted)	156,701	149,894	155,626	150,125
Basic earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.44	$ 0.25	$ 1.08	$ 0.66
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Vishay stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.41	$ 0.24	$ 1.01	$ 0.65
Convertible Senior Debentures, Due 2040 [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)	0	0	0	13,750
Minimum market price of common stock for inclusion of shares issuable upon conversion of senior debentures for calculation of diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 12.99		$ 12.99
Convertible Senior Debentures, Due 2041 [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)	8,401	8,268	8,371	8,229
Minimum market price of common stock for inclusion of shares issuable upon conversion of senior debentures for calculation of diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 17.80		$ 17.80
Convertible Senior Debentures, Due 2042 [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Minimum market price of common stock for inclusion of shares issuable upon conversion of senior debentures for calculation of diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 11.05		$ 11.05
Weighted average employees stock options [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)	0	77	0	96
Weighted average other [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded From Computation Of Earnings Per Share Amount (in shares)	379	415	514	545