Document and Entity Information shares in Thousands	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017 shares
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2017
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	8,672,085
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017