[python] referenced before assignment error in python

In Python I'm getting the following error:

UnboundLocalError: local variable 'total' referenced before assignment

At the start of the file (before the function where the error comes from), I declare 'total' using the global keyword. Then, in the body of the program, before the function that uses 'total' is called, I assign it to 0. I've tried setting it to 0 in various places (including the top of the file, just after it is declared), but I can't get it to work. Does anyone see what I'm doing wrong?

def inside():
   global var
   var = 'info'
inside()
print(var)

>>>'info'

problem ended

I found this post through the fact that I had this error myself in my own code and I know that it has been a while since this was posted and you already got some answers and fixed issue for that situation but just wanted to explain how I fixed it just in case it could help someone else!! Basically what I thought at first was that the code editor as was using REPL.it as was making something for a friend and knew that she wouldn't want to have to download like a code editor anyways the point is I thought that it couldn't handle the code because the complexity was at 139 at that point got even higher afterwards, but then I began experimenting and realized that within my set of functions just outside of a true loop within my a_loop function for that letter to register it needed to define it! So basically I wasn't defining the Value in this case a counting feature actually within the code! I would share my code here but it's kind of personal as in the print statements and also it's 2349 lines long and yeah anyway hope this helps! Also recommend using if you can in my case for some of the code I could, putting it into way more scripts if you can to make it easier on your brain! Once again hope this helps, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will answer to the best of my ability! I hope this helps!!!

-Sam

My Scenario

def example():
    cl = [0, 1]
    def inner():
        #cl = [1, 2] # access this way will throw `reference before assignment`
        cl[0] = 1 
        cl[1] = 2   # these won't

    inner()