Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Income Statement [Abstract]
Sales	$ 6,377	$ 7,204	$ 13,116	$ 14,148
Cost of sales, exclusive of depreciation and amortization	3,619	4,280	7,462	8,396
Selling, general and administrative	760	884	1,621	1,763
Depreciation and amortization	1,124	1,195	2,266	2,418
Research and development	34	45	78	91
Cost reduction programs and other charges	249	141	380	230
Other income (expense) - net		10	15	28
Operating Profit	591	669	1,324	1,278
Interest expense - net	18	10	42	33
Net pension and OPEB cost (benefit), excluding service cost	(45)	(24)	(90)	(9)
Income From Continuing Operations Before Income Taxes and Equity Investments	618	683	1,372	1,254
Income taxes on continuing operations	164	169	329	309
Income From Continuing Operations Before Equity Investments	454	514	1,043	945
Income from equity investments	29	28	46	62
Income From Continuing Operations (Including Noncontrolling Interests)	483	542	1,089	1,007
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax	0	9	2	98
Net Income (Including Noncontrolling Interests)	483	551	1,091	1,105
Less: noncontrolling interests from continuing operations	(25)	(29)	(60)	(59)
Less: noncontrolling interest from discontinued operations	0	0	0	(7)
Net Income – Linde plc	458	522	1,031	1,039
Income from continuing operations	458	513	1,029	948
Income from discontinued operations	$ 0	$ 9	$ 2	$ 91
Per Share Data – Linde plc Shareholders
Basic earnings per share from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 0.87	$ 0.95	$ 1.95	$ 1.74
Basic earnings per share from discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0	0.02	0	0.17
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	0.87	0.97	1.95	1.91
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	0.87	0.94	1.93	1.73
Diluted earnings per share from discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0	0.02	0	0.17
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.87	$ 0.96	$ 1.93	$ 1.90
Weighted Average Shares Outstanding (000’s):
Basic shares outstanding (in shares)	525,510,000	542,561,000	528,385,000	544,033,000
Diluted shares outstanding (in shares)	529,054,000	546,488,000	532,112,000	547,771,000