Here we return to First law of Geography:
“All things are related to everything else, but close things are more related than distant things”
Waldo Tobler
The preference for hexagons goes beyond easy reading on maps, also simplifying calculations that take into account the neighborhood, each hexagon has 6 neighbors.
There are other simplified data display formats, such as IBGE statistical grid, which are square cutouts of the territory, or the classics Census Sectors, the smallest territorial portion used by the IBGE to plan and carry out Census and Statistical Research data surveys. There may still be others, such as Weighting Areas.
Both the Weighting Areas and the Census Sectors are excerpts that meet the IBGE's operational needs in collecting information in the field.
Its use for reading maps is irregular, since both can vary greatly in dimensions and even content.
While the Statistical Grid is a homogeneous measure, which makes it much easier to read information on maps, since each area has the same dimension, with only its content varying, with 1/3 fewer neighbors than hexagons, hence our preference for the Hexagonal Grid;