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Pension and Postretirement Benefit Plans - Opening Paragraph Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2017 | Dec. 31, 2016 | Dec. 31, 2015
United States |  |  |
Schedule Of Defined Contribution Plans Disclosures |  |  |
Company match of eligible compensation of employee contributions into 401(k) | 5.00% |  |
Company cash match of employee contributions for employees hired after January 1, 2009 | 100.00% |  |
Company contribution to employer retirement income account for employees hired on or after January 1, 2009 | 3.00% |  |
Expenses related to defined contribution plans | $ 159 | $ 139 | $ 165
International Qualified and Non-qualified Pension Benefits |  |  |
Schedule Of Defined Contribution Plans Disclosures |  |  |
Expenses related to defined contribution plans | $ 88 | $ 87 | $ 77
Maximum | United States |  |  |
Schedule Of Defined Contribution Plans Disclosures |  |  |
Company cash match of employee contributions for employees hired prior to January 1, 2009 | 60.00% |  |
Minimum | United States |  |  |
Schedule Of Defined Contribution Plans Disclosures |  |  |
Company cash match of employee contributions for employees hired prior to January 1, 2009 | 45.00% |  |

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- Definition This element represents the Company match for all eligible compensation for defined contribution plans. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | mmm_CompanyMatchOfEligibleCompensationForCompanyDefinedContributionPlans
Namespace Prefix: | mmm_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

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- Definition Represents the employer matching contribution of the employee contributions for employees hired prior to January 1, 2009. + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | mmm_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

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- Definition For a defined contribution postretirement plan, the percentage of eligible compensation which the entity will contribute for employees hired after January 1, 2009. + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | mmm_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

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- Definition Amount of cost for defined contribution plan. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 715 -SubTopic 70 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=49170846&loc=d3e28014-114942 + Details
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- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
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Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
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- Definition Percentage employer matches of the employee's percentage contribution matched. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerMatchingContributionPercentOfMatch
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

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- Details
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Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

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- Details
Name: | us-gaap_RetirementPlanSponsorLocationAxis=us-gaap_ForeignPlanMember
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- Details
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- Details
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