global_stmt ::= "global" identifier ("," identifier)*
The global statement is a declaration which holds for the entire current code block. It means that the listed identifiers are to be interpreted as globals. It would be impossible to assign to a global variable without global, although free variables may refer to globals without being declared global.
Names listed in a global statement must not be used in the same code block textually preceding that global statement.
Names listed in a global statement must not be defined as formal parameters or in a for loop control target, class definition, function definition, or import statement.
CPython implementation detail: The current implementation does not enforce the two restrictions, but programs should not abuse this freedom, as future implementations may enforce them or silently change the meaning of the program.
Programmer’s note: the global is a directive to the parser. It applies only to code parsed at the same time as the global statement. In particular, a global statement contained in a string or code object supplied to the built-in exec() function does not affect the code block containing the function call, and code contained in such a string is unaffected by global statements in the code containing the function call. The same applies to the eval() and compile() functions.