XML 79 R47.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.0.8

Description of Business - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013 Location Country Employee
Product Information [Line Items]
Number of employees	10,300
Number of locations in which company operates	77
Number of countries in which company operates	38
United States
Product Information [Line Items]
Percentage of company revenue	43.60%
Europe
Product Information [Line Items]
Percentage of company revenue	45.40%
Rest of World
Product Information [Line Items]
Percentage of company revenue	11.00%

X

- Definition

Number of persons employed by the Entity

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	dei_EntityNumberOfEmployees
Namespace Prefix:	dei_
Data Type:	xbrli:decimalItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Definition

Number of Locations

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	iclr_NumberOfLocations
Namespace Prefix:	iclr_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Percentage of Company Revenue

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	iclr_PercentageOfCompanyRevenue
Namespace Prefix:	iclr_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

The number of countries in which the entity operates as of balance sheet date.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfCountriesInWhichEntityOperates
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ProductInformationLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration