Document and Entity Information shares in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019 shares
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2019
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 Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	8,720,808
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019