Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Net income attributable to Colgate-Palmolive Company
Basic EPS	$ 715	$ 560
Diluted EPS	$ 715	$ 560
Shares
Basic EPS (in shares)	856,900,000	862,000,000.0
Stock options and restricted stock units (in shares)	1,500,000	1,200,000
Diluted EPS (in shares)	858,400,000	863,200,000
Per Share
Basic EPS (in dollars per share)	$ 0.83	$ 0.65
Diluted EPS (in dollars per share)	$ 0.83	$ 0.65
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)	20,965,110	21,980,033