CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY - USD ($) $ in Thousands	General Partner Preferred Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Series C Preferred Stock DFT Merger	General Partner Preferred Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Series F Preferred Stock	General Partner Preferred Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Potentially dilutive Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	General Partner Preferred Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Series J Preferred Stock	General Partner Preferred Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Potentially dilutive Series K Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	General Partner Preferred Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Series L Preferred Stock	General Partner Preferred Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P.	General Partner Common Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Series F Preferred Stock	General Partner Common Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Potentially dilutive Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	General Partner Common Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. DFT Merger	General Partner Common Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P.	Limited Partners Common Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. DFT Merger	Limited Partners Common Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Ascenty	Limited Partners Common Units Digital Realty Trust, L.P.	Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net Digital Realty Trust, L.P.	Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Joint Ventures Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Ascenty	Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Joint Ventures Digital Realty Trust, L.P.	Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests Digital Realty Trust, L.P. DFT Merger	Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests Digital Realty Trust, L.P.	Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Total Stockholders' Equity DFT Merger	Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Series C Preferred Stock DFT Merger	Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Series F Preferred Stock	Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Potentially dilutive Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Series J Preferred Stock	Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Potentially dilutive Series K Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Series L Preferred Stock	Digital Realty Trust, L.P. Ascenty	Digital Realty Trust, L.P.	Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests Series F Preferred Stock	Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests DFT Merger	Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests	Preferred Stock Series C Preferred Stock DFT Merger	Preferred Stock Series F Preferred Stock	Preferred Stock Potentially dilutive Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Preferred Stock Series J Preferred Stock	Preferred Stock Potentially dilutive Series K Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Preferred Stock Series L Preferred Stock	Preferred Stock DFT Merger	Preferred Stock	Common Stock DFT Merger	Common Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital Series F Preferred Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital Series J Preferred Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital DFT Merger	Additional Paid-in Capital	Accumulated Dividends in Excess of Earnings Series F Preferred Stock	Accumulated Dividends in Excess of Earnings Potentially dilutive Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Accumulated Dividends in Excess of Earnings	Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net Interest Rate Swap	Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net	Total Stockholders' Equity Series C Preferred Stock DFT Merger	Total Stockholders' Equity Series F Preferred Stock	Total Stockholders' Equity Potentially dilutive Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Total Stockholders' Equity Series J Preferred Stock	Total Stockholders' Equity Potentially dilutive Series K Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Total Stockholders' Equity Series L Preferred Stock	Total Stockholders' Equity DFT Merger	Total Stockholders' Equity Interest Rate Swap	Total Stockholders' Equity	Noncontrolling Interests in Operating Partnership Series F Preferred Stock	Noncontrolling Interests in Operating Partnership Series J Preferred Stock	Noncontrolling Interests in Operating Partnership DFT Merger	Noncontrolling Interests in Operating Partnership Ascenty	Noncontrolling Interests in Operating Partnership Interest Rate Swap	Noncontrolling Interests in Operating Partnership	Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Joint Ventures Ascenty	Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Joint Ventures	Total Noncontrolling Interests Series F Preferred Stock	Total Noncontrolling Interests Series J Preferred Stock	Total Noncontrolling Interests DFT Merger	Total Noncontrolling Interests Ascenty	Total Noncontrolling Interests Interest Rate Swap	Total Noncontrolling Interests	Series C Preferred Stock DFT Merger	Series F Preferred Stock	Potentially dilutive Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Series J Preferred Stock	Potentially dilutive Series K Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock	Series L Preferred Stock	DFT Merger	Ascenty	Interest Rate Swap	Total
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Number of units (units)							41,900,000				159,019,118			2,475,663
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2016																															$ 0								$ 1,012,961		$ 1,582				$ 5,764,497			$ (1,547,420)		$ (135,605)									$ 5,096,015						$ 29,684		$ 6,598						$ 36,282										$ 5,132,297
Beginning balance (shares) at Dec. 31, 2016																																									159,019,118
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Conversion of common units to common stock																																									$ 6				10,003														10,009						(10,009)								(10,009)										0
Conversion of common units to common stock (shares)																																									562,582
Issuance of unvested restricted stock, net of forfeitures (shares)																																									249,050
Issuance of common stock, net of offering costs																																						$ 219,250			$ 24				211,873														211,897																								$ 211,897
Issuance of common stock, net of offering costs (shares)				8,000,000																																					2,375,000																																										6,111,770
Shares issued under employee stock purchase plan											$ 5,143																	$ 5,143																	5,143														5,143																								$ 5,143
Shares issued under employee stock purchase plan (shares)											71,253																														71,253
Issuance of preferred stock, net of offering costs				$ 193,540																				$ 193,540								$ 219,250			$ 193,540																$ 219,250			$ 193,540																				$ 219,250			$ 193,540
Redemption of preferred stock		$ (176,191)						$ (6,309)														$ (182,500)											$ (176,191)													$ (6,309)						$ (182,500)																							$ (182,500)
Amortization of unearned compensation on share-based awards											$ 27,981																	27,981																	27,981														27,981																								27,981
Reclassification of vested share-based awards																																													(10,057)														(10,057)						10,057								10,057										12,357
Adjustment to redeemable noncontrolling interests											4,166			$ 8,191					$ (12,357)									12,357			(12,357)														4,166														4,166						8,191								8,191
Dividends declared on preferred stock																												(68,802)																				(68,802)											(68,802)																								(68,802)
Dividends and distributions on common stock and common and incentive units																																																(681,280)											(681,280)						(20,694)								(20,694)										(701,974)
Net income							$ 68,802				$ 179,457			$ 3,770			$ 4,238											256,267																				248,259											248,259						3,770		4,238						8,008										256,267
Other comprehensive income-foreign currency translation adjustments															$ 28,709													28,709																						28,272									28,272						437								437										28,709
Other comprehensive income- fair value of interest rate swaps/foreign currency hedges															(3,434)													(3,434)																					$ (3,513)									$ (3,513)						$ 79								$ 79										$ (3,434)	(3,434)
Other comprehensive income- reclassification of accumulated other comprehensive (income) loss to interest expense															2,459													2,459																						2,414									2,414						45								45										2,459
Common stock and units issued	$ 219,250																			$ 5,247,558	$ 219,250									$ 66,259										$ 432				$ 5,247,126													$ 5,247,558					$ 676,566								$ 676,566										$ 5,924,124
Common stock and units issued (shares)	8,050,000									43,175,629		6,111,770						66,259,000																						43,175,629
Exercise of stock options																																													729														729																								729
Exercise of stock options (shares)																																									17,668
Distributions from noncontrolling interests in consolidated joint ventures, net of contributions																																																																			(8,593)						(8,593)										(8,593)
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2017																															53,902								1,249,560		$ 2,044				11,261,461			(2,055,552)		(108,432)									10,349,081						698,126		2,243						700,369										11,049,450
Ending balance (shares) at Dec. 31, 2017																																									205,470,300
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Conversion of limited partner common units to general partner common units (units)											562,582			562,582
Noncontrolling interests in operating partnership converted to shares of common stock											$ 10,009			$ (10,009)																																																																					10,009
Issuance of unvested restricted stock, net of forfeitures (units)											249,050
Issuance of common units, net of forfeitures (units)														464,244
Reclassification of vested share-based awards											$ (10,057)			$ 10,057
Partners' Capital Account, Distributions							$ (68,802)				$ (681,280)			$ (20,694)														(770,776)
Distributions From Noncontrolling Interests In Consolidated Joint Ventures Subsidiary																	(8,593)											(8,593)
Number of units (units)							50,650,000				205,470,300			8,489,095
Conversion of common units to common stock																																									$ 7				61,997														62,004						(62,004)								(62,004)										0
Conversion of common units to common stock (shares)																																									711,892
Issuance of unvested restricted stock, net of forfeitures (shares)																																									220,765
Common stock offering costs																																													(1,194)														(1,194)																								$ (1,194)
Issuance of common stock, net of offering costs																																						0
Issuance of common stock, net of offering costs (shares)																																																																																			2,338,874
Shares issued under employee stock purchase plan							$ 5,874				$ 5,874																														$ 1				5,873														5,874																								$ 5,874
Shares issued under employee stock purchase plan (shares)											69,532																														69,532
Amortization of unearned compensation on share-based awards											$ 32,456																	32,456																	32,456														32,456																								32,456
Reclassification of vested share-based awards																																											$ (3,772)											$ (3,772)							$ 3,772								$ 3,772
Adjustment to redeemable noncontrolling interests											1,596			$ 35,678					(37,274)									37,274	$ (37,274)													$ 1,596										$ 1,596								$ 35,678								$ 35,678							$ 37,274
Dividends declared on preferred stock																												(81,316)																				(81,316)											(81,316)																								(81,316)
Dividends and distributions on common stock and common and incentive units																															(1,271)																	(833,364)											(833,364)						(32,311)								(32,311)										(865,675)
Contributions from noncontrolling interests in consolidated joint ventures, net of distributions																	66,124											66,124																																							66,124						66,124										66,124
Net income							81,316				249,930			$ 9,705			(311)		475									340,640			475																	331,246											331,246						9,705		(311)						9,394										340,640
Other comprehensive income-foreign currency translation adjustments															(11,736)													(11,736)																						(11,279)									(11,279)						(457)								(457)										(11,736)
Other comprehensive income- fair value of interest rate swaps/foreign currency hedges															8,197													8,197																					7,890									7,890						307								307										8,197	8,197
Other comprehensive income- reclassification of accumulated other comprehensive (income) loss to interest expense															(3,969)													(3,969)																						(3,826)									(3,826)						(143)								(143)										(3,969)
Common stock and units issued													$ 253,837			$ 25,000				0							$ 278,837																														0						$ 253,837			$ 25,000					$ 278,837										$ 278,837
Common stock and units issued (shares)													2,338,874
Shares repurchased and retired to satisfy tax withholding upon vesting											$ (5,055)																	(5,055)													$ (1)				(5,054)														(5,055)																								(5,055)
Shares repurchased and retired to satisfy tax withholding upon vesting (shares)											(46,833)																														(46,833)
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2018																															15,832								1,249,560		$ 2,051				11,355,751			(2,633,071)		(115,647)									9,858,644						$ 906,510		93,056						999,566										10,858,210
Ending balance (shares) at Dec. 31, 2018																																									206,425,656
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Conversion of limited partner common units to general partner common units (units)											711,892			711,892
Noncontrolling interests in operating partnership converted to shares of common stock											$ 62,004			$ (62,004)																																																																					62,004
Issuance of unvested restricted stock, net of forfeitures (units)											220,765
Reclassification of vested share-based awards											$ (3,772)			3,772
Partners' Capital Account, Distributions							$ (81,316)				(833,364)			$ (32,311)					(1,271)									(946,991)
Cumulative effect adjustment from adoption of new accounting standard											$ (5,915)																	(5,915)																				5,915											5,915																								$ 5,915
Number of units (units)							50,650,000				206,425,656			10,580,884																																																			217,006,540																		206,425,656
Conversion of common units to common stock																																									$ 22				190,492														190,514						$ (190,514)								(190,514)										$ 0
Conversion of common units to common stock (shares)																																									2,154,460
Issuance of unvested restricted stock, net of forfeitures (shares)																																									256,868
Common stock offering costs																																													(2,530)														(2,530)																								(2,530)
Issuance of common stock, net of offering costs																																						$ 0
Issuance of common stock, net of offering costs (shares)					8,400,000	13,800,000
Shares issued under employee stock purchase plan											$ 5,462																	5,462																	5,462														5,462																								5,462
Shares issued under employee stock purchase plan (shares)											63,774																														63,774
Issuance of preferred stock, net of offering costs					$ 203,264	$ 334,886																			$ 203,264	$ 334,886										$ 203,264	$ 334,886																		$ 203,264	$ 334,886																						$ 203,264	$ 334,886
Redemption of preferred stock			$ (353,290)						$ (11,760)														$ (365,050)											$ (353,290)													$ (11,760)						$ (365,050)																							$ (365,050)
Amortization of unearned compensation on share-based awards											$ 38,662																	38,662																	38,662														38,662																								38,662
Reclassification of vested share-based awards																																													(8,458)														(8,458)						8,458								8,458										0
Adjustment to redeemable noncontrolling interests											(2,059)						(23,878)		25,937									(25,937)			25,937														(2,059)														(2,059)								(23,878)						(23,878)										(25,937)
Dividends declared on preferred stock																												(74,990)																				(74,990)											(74,990)																								(74,990)
Dividends and distributions on common stock and common and incentive units																															(676)																	(900,201)											(900,201)						(38,278)								(38,278)										(938,479)
Contributions from noncontrolling interests in consolidated joint ventures, net of distributions																	63,173											63,173																																							63,173						63,173										63,173
Deconsolidation of consolidated joint venture																	(110,086)											(110,086)																																							(110,086)						(110,086)										(110,086)
Net income							$ 74,990				$ 504,771			$ 20,728			$ (1,640)		372									598,849			372																	579,761											579,761						20,728		(1,640)						19,088										598,849
Other comprehensive income-foreign currency translation adjustments															45,662													45,662																						43,702									43,702						1,960								1,960										45,662
Other comprehensive income- fair value of interest rate swaps/foreign currency hedges															(9,232)													(9,232)																					$ (8,839)									$ (8,839)						$ (393)								$ (393)										$ (9,232)	(9,232)
Other comprehensive income- reclassification of accumulated other comprehensive (income) loss to interest expense															$ (7,446)													(7,446)																						(7,138)									(7,138)						(308)								(308)										(7,446)
Common stock and units issued																				$ 0																																					$ 0
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2019																															$ 41,465								$ 1,434,420		$ 2,073				$ 11,577,320			(3,046,579)		$ (87,922)									9,879,312						$ 708,163		$ 20,625						$ 728,788										10,608,100
Ending balance (shares) at Dec. 31, 2019																																									208,900,758
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Conversion of limited partner common units to general partner common units (units)											2,154,460			2,154,460
Noncontrolling interests in operating partnership converted to shares of common stock											$ 190,514			$ (190,514)																																																																					190,514
Issuance of unvested restricted stock, net of forfeitures (units)											256,868			416,731
Reclassification of vested share-based awards											$ (8,458)			$ 8,458
Partners' Capital Account, Distributions							$ (74,990)				(900,201)			$ (38,278)					$ (676)									(1,013,469)
Cumulative effect adjustment from adoption of new accounting standard											$ (6,318)																	$ (6,318)																				$ (6,318)											$ (6,318)																								$ (6,318)
Number of units (units)							58,250,000				208,900,758			8,843,155																																																			217,743,913																		208,900,758