| **Tax Matters - Income from Continuing Operations Before Provision for Taxes on Income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | 12 Months Ended |
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| **Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]**                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |                 |   |   |   |
| United States                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |                 | $ (8,534) | $ (6,809) | $ (4,744) |
| International                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |                 | 16,886 | 15,773 | 16,984 |
| Income from continuing operations before provision for taxes on income                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   | [1],[2]         | $ 8,351 | $ 8,965 | $ 12,240 |
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| [1]2015 v. 2014––The increase in the domestic loss was primarily due to the loss of exclusivity for Celebrex and Zyvox, higher restructuring charges and higher selling, informational and administrative expenses, partially offset by the performance of certain products including Prevnar 13 and Ibrance, and the impact of Hospira operations. The decrease in international income was primarily due to a foreign currency loss related to Venezuela, higher asset impairments, and the loss of exclusivity for Lyrica in certain developed markets, partially offset by lower R&D costs.The following table provides the components of Provision for taxes on income based on the location of the taxing authorities: Year Ended December 31, (MILLIONS OF DOLLARS) 2016 2015 2014United States Current income taxes: Federal $342 $67 $393State and local (52) (8) 85Deferred income taxes: Federal (419) 300 725State and local (106) (36) (256)Total U.S. tax provision (235) 323 948International Current income taxes 1,532 1,951 2,321Deferred income taxes (175) (284) (149)Total international tax provision 1,358 1,667 2,172Provision for taxes on income $1,123 $1,990 $3,120[2]2016 v. 2015––The increase in the domestic loss was primarily due to a charge related to the write-down of HIS net assets to fair value less estimated costs to sell, higher asset impairments, and higher restructuring charges and certain acquisition-related costs, partially offset by the inclusion of a full year of legacy U.S. Hospira operations as compared to four months of U.S. operations in 2015, and lower charges for legal matters. The increase in international income is primarily due to the non-recurrence of a foreign currency loss related to Venezuela partially offset by a charge related to the write-down of HIS net assets to fair value less estimated costs to sell, and higher restructuring charges and certain acquisition-related costs. |

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| - Definition
The portion of earnings or loss from continuing operations before income taxes that is attributable to domestic operations.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(h)(1)(i)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26873400&loc=d3e23780-122690
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| - Definition
The portion of earnings or loss from continuing operations before income taxes that is attributable to foreign operations, which is defined as Income or Loss generated from operations located outside the entity's country of domicile.
+ References
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
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| - Definition
Amount of income (loss) from continuing operations before deduction of income tax expense (benefit) and income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest, and addition of income (loss) from equity method investments.
+ References
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| - References
No definition available.
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