Debt of the Operating Partnership (Unsecured Term Loan) (Narrative) (Details) (Unsecured term loan, Digital Realty Trust, L.P., USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015 extension		Dec. 31, 2014		Aug. 15, 2013	Aug. 14, 2013
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 1,000,000,000.0	$ 750,000,000.0
Maturity Date	Apr. 16, 2017
Number of extension options	2
Revolving credit facility commitments extension	6 months
Balance as of March 31, 2015	942,006,000	[1]	976,600,000	[1]
Capitalized financing costs	8,400,000
Accordian Feature
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 1,100,000,000.0

[1] Balances as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 are as follows (balances, in thousands):Denomination of DrawBalance as of March 31, 2015 Weighted-averageinterest rate Balance as of December 31, 2014 Weighted-averageinterest rate U.S. dollar ($)$410,9051.38%(b)$410,9051.36%(d)Singapore dollar (SGD)166,485(a)1.75%(b)172,426(c)1.45%(d)British pound sterling (£)179,187(a)1.76%188,365(c)1.76%Euro (€)106,773(a)1.19%120,375(c)1.22%Australian dollar (AUD)78,656(a)3.50%84,529(c)3.98%Total$942,006 1.67%(b)$976,6001.66%(d)(a)Based on exchange rates of $0.73 to 1.00 SGD, $1.48 to £1.00, $1.07 to €1.00 and $0.76 to 1.00 AUD, respectively, as of March 31, 2015.(b)As of March 31, 2015, the weighted-average interest rate reflecting interest rate swaps was 1.92% (U.S. dollar), 2.10% (Singapore dollar) and 1.97% (Total). See Note 14 for further discussion on interest rate swaps.(c)Based on exchange rates of $0.75 to 1.00 SGD, $1.56 to £1.00, $1.21 to €1.00 and $0.82 to 1.00 AUD, respectively, as of December 31, 2014.(d)As of December 31, 2014, the weighted-average interest rate reflecting interest rate swaps was 1.92% (U.S. dollar), 2.01% (Singapore dollar) and 2.00% (Total). See Note 14 for further discussion on interest rate swaps.