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Employees - Additional Information (Detail) € in Millions | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2018 EUR (€) Sk | Dec. 31, 2017 EUR (€) | Dec. 31, 2017 GBP (£) | Dec. 31, 2016 EUR (€) | Dec. 31, 2016 GBP (£)
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Defined benefit liabilities | 12.00% |  |  |  |
Actual return on plan assets | € (557) | € 2,015 |  |  |
Actual return on plan assets | (1,108) | 1,475 |  | € 1,877 |
Interest income | 551 |  |  |  |
Property and leases | 1,579 | 1,467 |  |  |
Property and Leases Occupied by Unilever [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Property and leases | 28 | 32 |  |  |
Unilever securities [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Equity securities | € 12 | € 14 |  |  |
Percentage of plan assets in equity securities | 0.10% | 0.10% |  |  |
Pension liabilities [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Defined benefit liabilities | 96.00% |  |  |  |
Special Benefits Trust [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Excluded plan assets | € 59 | € 63 |  |  |
Escrow [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Excluded plan assets |  |  |  | € 68 |
United Kingdom [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Percentage of long term trend future improvements | 1.00% |  |  |  |
2016 CMI core projections (Sk) | Sk | 7.5 |  |  |  |
United Kingdom [Member] | Interest rate risk [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Degree of hedging of liabilities, percentage | 55.00% |  |  |  |
United Kingdom [Member] | Inflation rate risk [member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Degree of hedging of liabilities, percentage | 55.00% |  |  |  |
Netherlands [Member] | Interest rate risk [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Degree of hedging of liabilities, percentage | 32.00% |  |  |  |
Netherlands [Member] | Inflation rate risk [member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Degree of hedging of liabilities, percentage | 29.00% |  |  |  |
Defined Benefit Plans [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Current estimated group employer contributions, payable in 2016 excluding UK pension fund deficit contributions | £ |  |  | £ 600,000,000 |  | £ 600,000,000
Other Post-Employment Benefit Plans [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Period of level of medical cost inflation | 5 years |  |  |  |
Other Post-Employment Benefit Plans [Member] | Bottom of range [member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Rate of level of medical cost inflation | 7.00% |  |  |  |
Liabilities [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Disclosure Of Pension Plans [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Defined benefit liabilities | 84.00% |  |  |  |

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- Definition The decrease (increase) in the net defined benefit liability (asset) resulting from the return on plan assets. The return on plans assets is interest, dividends and other revenue derived from the plan assets, together with realised and unrealised gains or losses on the plan assets, less any costs of managing plan assets and less any tax payable by the plan itself, other than tax included in the actuarial assumptions used to measure the present value of the defined benefit obligation. [Refer: Plan assets [member]; Net defined benefit liability (asset); Actuarial assumptions [member]] + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Name IAS -Number 19 -IssueDate 2017-01-01 -Paragraph 141 -Subparagraph c -Clause i -URI http://eifrs.ifrs.org/eifrs/XBRL?type=IAS&num=19&date=2017-03-01&anchor=para_141_c_i&doctype=Standard -URIDate 2017-03-09 + Details
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