Document and Entity Information $ / shares in Units, $ in Billions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares shares
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Registrant Name	General Electric Company
Trading Symbol	GE
Entity Central Index Key	0000040545
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding | shares	8,742,614,000
Common stock, par value per share | $ / shares	$ 0.06
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q4
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Entity Public Float | $	$ 265.6
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No