Debt of the Operating Partnership (Weighted-average Interest Rate by Denomination of Draw) (Details) - Digital Realty Trust, L.P. $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / SGD $ / ¥ $ / £ $ / CAD $ / AUD $ / HKD	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / SGD $ / ¥ $ / £ $ / CAD $ / AUD $ / HKD
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 6,256,298
Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 1,511,515	$ 1,488,498
Weighted-average interest rate	2.03%	1.93%
Interest Rate Swap | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	2.22%	2.23%
U.S. dollar ($) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 710,911	$ 710,911
Weighted-average interest rate	2.20%	1.99%
U.S. dollar ($) | Interest Rate Swap | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	2.43%	2.45%
British pound sterling (£) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 212,691	$ 209,132
Weighted-average interest rate	1.36%	1.36%
Exchange rate | $ / £	1.26	1.23
British pound sterling (£) | Interest Rate Swap | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.89%	1.89%
Singapore dollar (SGD) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 231,021	$ 222,824
Weighted-average interest rate	1.86%	1.76%
Exchange rate | $ / SGD	0.72	0.69
Singapore dollar (SGD) | Interest Rate Swap | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.91%	1.90%
Australian dollar (AUD) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 180,273	$ 170,325
Weighted-average interest rate	2.73%	2.72%
Exchange rate | $ / AUD	0.76	0.72
Hong Kong dollar (HKD) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 85,868	$ 86,029
Weighted-average interest rate	1.54%	1.77%
Exchange rate | $ / HKD	0.13	0.13
Canadian dollar (CAD) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 73,964	$ 73,294
Weighted-average interest rate	1.99%	2.00%
Exchange rate | $ / CAD	0.75	0.74
Canadian dollar (CAD) | Interest Rate Swap | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Weighted-average interest rate	1.88%	1.88%
Japanese yen (JPY) | Unsecured Term Loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt, gross	$ 16,787	$ 15,983
Weighted-average interest rate	1.05%	0.98%
Exchange rate | $ / ¥	0.01	0.01