Its growth was largely due to the influence of the previous Togolese head of state Gnassingbé Eyadéma; he was born in the nearby village of Pya and understood Kara's strategic position at a crossroads of two trade routes.

[1] Under the presidency of Gnassingbé Eyadéma, in the 1970s, the city developed particularly because of its role in holding political events.

The majority of the population depend on subsistence agriculture cultivating maize, cassava, yams, sorghum, pearl millet, groundnuts, and as a cash crop, cotton.

The city is served various by several international bus lines to Lomé, Ouagadougou and Niamey, including Eltrab, LK, Adji, and Rakieta.

Niamtougou International Airport, which is located 40 kilometers north of Kara, is undergoing development.

The Compagnie d'Énergie Eléctrique du Togo reported in 2001 that Ghana supplied the city with 0.520 TWh of electricity.