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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
ProspectusDate rr_ProspectusDate Nov. 28, 2011
MFS Latin American Equity Fund (Prospectus Summary) | MFS Latin American Equity Fund
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return, Heading rr_RiskReturnHeading Summary of Key Information
Investment Objective, Heading rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective
investment Objective, Primary rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock 
The fund's investment objective is to seek capital appreciation.
Expense, Heading rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses
Expense, Narrative rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock 
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay when you buy and
hold shares of the fund. Expenses have been adjusted to reflect current fee
arrangements.

You may qualify for sales charge reductions if you and certain members of your
family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in MFS Funds.
More information about these and other waivers and reductions is available from
your financial intermediary and in "Sales Charges and Waivers or Reductions" on
page 7 of the fund's prospectus and "Waivers of Sales Charges" on page I-13 of
the fund's statement of additional information Part I.
Shareholder Fees, Caption rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment):
Operating Expenses, Caption rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment):
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination 2012-11-30
Portfolio Turnover, Heading rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock 
The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares are
held in a taxable account. These transaction costs, which are not reflected in
"Annual Fund Operating Expenses" or in the "Example," affect the fund's
performance.  For the period from the fund's commencement of operations on
September 15, 2010 to the fund's fiscal year end of July 31, 2011, the fund's
portfolio turnover rate was approximately 30% of the average value of its
portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 30.00%
Expense Breakpoint, Discounts rr_ExpenseBreakpointDiscounts You may qualify for sales charge reductions if you and certain members of your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in MFS Funds.
Expense Breakpoint, Minimum Investment Required Amount rr_ExpenseBreakpointMinimumInvestmentRequiredAmount 50,000
Expenses, Restated to Reflect Current rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent Expenses have been adjusted to reflect current fee arrangements.
Expense Example, Heading rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example, Narrative rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock 
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund
with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

The example assumes that: you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods
indicated and you redeem your shares at the end of the time periods (unless
otherwise indicated); your investment has a 5% return each year; and the fund's
operating expenses remain the same.
Expense Example, By Year, Caption rr_ExpenseExampleByYearCaption Although your actual costs will likely be higher or lower, under these assumptions your costs would be:
Investment Strategy, Heading rr_StrategyHeading Principal Investment Strategies
Investment Strategy, Narrative rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock 
MFS (Massachusetts Financial Services Company, the fund's investment adviser)
normally invests at least 80% of the fund's net assets in equity securities of
Latin American issuers and other investments that are tied economically to Latin
America. The Latin American region includes any country in South America,
Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. All of the countries in the Latin
American region are currently considered emerging market economies.

Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, securities
convertible into stocks, and depositary receipts for those securities.

MFS may invest a large percentage of the fund's assets in issuers in a single
country or a small number of countries within Latin America.

MFS may invest up to 35% of the fund's assets in any industry that accounts for
more than 20% of the Latin American market.

In selecting investments for the fund, MFS is not constrained to any particular
investment style. MFS may invest the fund's assets in the stocks of companies it
believes to have above average earnings growth potential compared to other
companies (growth companies), in the stocks of companies it believes are
undervalued compared to their perceived worth (value companies), or in a
combination of growth and value companies.

MFS may invest the fund's assets in companies of any size.

The fund is a non-diversified fund. This means that MFS may invest a relatively
large percentage of the fund's assets in a single issuer or a small number of
issuers.

MFS uses a bottom-up investment approach to buying and selling investments for
the fund. Investments are selected primarily based on fundamental analysis of
individual issuers. Quantitative models that systematically evaluate issuers may
also be considered.
Risk, Heading rr_RiskHeading Principal Risks
Risk, Narrative rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock 
As with any mutual fund, the fund may not achieve its objective and/or you could
lose money on your investment in the fund. An investment in the fund is not a
bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or any other governmental agency.

The principal risks of investing in the fund are:

Stock Market/Company Risk:  Stock markets are volatile and can decline
significantly in response to issuer, market, economic, industry, political,
regulatory, geopolitical, and other conditions, as well as to investor
perceptions of these conditions. The price of an equity security can decrease
significantly in response to these conditions, and these conditions can affect a
single issuer or type of security, issuers within a broad market sector,
industry or geographic region, or the market in general.

Foreign and Emerging Markets Risk:  Exposure to foreign markets, especially
emerging markets, through issuers or currencies can involve additional risks
relating to market, economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical, or other
conditions. These factors can make foreign investments, especially those in
emerging markets, more volatile and less liquid than U.S. investments. In
addition, foreign markets can react differently to these conditions than the
U.S. market. Emerging markets can have less developed markets and less developed
legal, regulatory, and accounting systems, and greater political, social, and
economic instability than developed markets.

Currency Risk:  The value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar
fluctuates in response to market, economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical
or other conditions, and a decline in the value of a foreign currency versus the
U.S. dollar reduces the value in U.S. dollars of investments denominated in that
foreign currency.

Geographic Concentration Risk:  The fund's performance could be closely tied to
the market, currency, economic, political, regulatory, geopolitical, or other
conditions in the countries or regions in which the fund invests and could be
more volatile than the performance of more geographically-diversified funds.

Latin American Market Risk:  All of the countries in the Latin American region
are currently considered emerging market economies. High interest, inflation,
and unemployment rates have historically characterized most Latin American
economies.  These economies are less developed and can be reliant on particular
industries and more vulnerable to changes in international trade, trade barriers
and other protectionist or retaliatory measures. The economies of Latin American
countries are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices because
commodities represent a significant percentage of exports of many Latin American
countries. Governments of many Latin American countries exercise substantial
influence over many aspects of the private sector, and any such exercise could
have a significant effect on issuers in which the fund invests.

Non-Diversification Risk:  Because MFS may invest a relatively large percentage
of the fund's assets in a single issuer or small number of issuers, the fund's
performance could be closely tied to the value of that one issuer or issuers,
and could be more volatile than the performance of diversified funds.

Investment Selection Risk:  The MFS analysis of an investment can be incorrect
and can lead to an investment focus that results in the fund underperforming
other funds with similar investment strategies and/or underperforming the
markets in which the fund invests.

Counterparty and Third Party Risk:  Transactions involving a counterparty or
third party other than the issuer of the instrument are subject to the credit
risk of the counterparty or third party, and to the counterparty's or third
party's ability to perform in accordance with the terms of the transaction.

Liquidity Risk:  It may not be possible to sell certain investments, types of
investments, and/or segments of the market at any particular time or at an
acceptable price.
Risk, Lose Money rr_RiskLoseMoney As with any mutual fund, the fund may not achieve its objective and/or you could lose money on your investment in the fund.
Risk, Nondiversified Status rr_RiskNondiversifiedStatus Because MFS may invest a relatively large percentage of the fund's assets in a single issuer or small number of issuers, the fund's performance could be closely tied to the value of that one issuer or issuers, and could be more volatile than the performance of diversified funds.
Risk, Not Insured Depository Institution rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table, Heading rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance Information
Performance, Narrative rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock 
The bar chart and performance table are not included because the fund has not
had a full calendar year of investment operations.
Performance, One Year or Less rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess The bar chart and performance table are not included because the fund has not had a full calendar year of investment operations.
MFS Latin American Equity Fund | A
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Shareholder Fees, Column Name rr_ShareholderFeesColumnName 
A
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice 5.75%
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is less) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice 1.00% [1]
Operating Expenses, Column Name rr_OperatingExpensesColumnName 
A
Management Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 1.05%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 9.25%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 10.55%
Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (8.90%) [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 1.65%
Expense Example, With Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 733
Expense Example, With Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 2,676
Expense Example, With Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 4,409
Expense Example, With Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 7,967
MFS Latin American Equity Fund | B
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Shareholder Fees, Column Name rr_ShareholderFeesColumnName 
B
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is less) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice 4.00%
Operating Expenses, Column Name rr_OperatingExpensesColumnName 
B
Management Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 1.05%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 1.00%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 9.25%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 11.30%
Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (8.90%) [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 2.40%
Expense Example, With Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 643
Expense Example, With Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 2,688
Expense Example, With Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 4,486
Expense Example, With Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 8,062
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 243
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 2,418
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 4,328
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 8,062
MFS Latin American Equity Fund | C
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Shareholder Fees, Column Name rr_ShareholderFeesColumnName 
C
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is less) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice 1.00%
Operating Expenses, Column Name rr_OperatingExpensesColumnName 
C
Management Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 1.05%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 1.00%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 9.25%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 11.30%
Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (8.90%) [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 2.40%
Expense Example, With Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 343
Expense Example, With Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 2,418
Expense Example, With Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 4,328
Expense Example, With Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 8,143
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear01 243
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear03 2,418
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear05 4,328
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleNoRedemptionYear10 8,143
MFS Latin American Equity Fund | I
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Shareholder Fees, Column Name rr_ShareholderFeesColumnName 
I
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of original purchase price or redemption proceeds, whichever is less) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOfferingPrice none
Operating Expenses, Column Name rr_OperatingExpensesColumnName 
I
Management Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 1.05%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 9.25%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 10.30%
Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (8.90%) [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Reductions and/or Expense Reimbursements rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 1.40%
Expense Example, With Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 143
Expense Example, With Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 2,165
Expense Example, With Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 3,979
Expense Example, With Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 7,736
[1] On shares purchased without an initial sales charge and redeemed within 24 months of purchase.
[2] MFS has agreed in writing to bear the fund's expenses, excluding interest, taxes, extraordinary expenses, brokerage and transaction costs, and investment-related expenses (such as interest and borrowing expenses incurred in connection with the fund's investment activity), such that "Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses" do not exceed 1.65% of the fund's average daily net assets annually for Class A shares, 2.40% of the fund's average daily net assets annually for each of Class B and Class C shares, and 1.40% of the fund's average daily net assets annually for Class I shares. This written agreement will continue until modified by the fund's Board of Trustees, but such agreement will continue until at least November 30, 2012.