Disclosed herein are oil-in-water dispersions and sunscreen compositions that contain them, which exhibit high in vivo sun protection factor (SPF) efficiency due to the ability of the dispersions to both absorb and scatter ultraviolet (UV) light. These high efficiency sunscreen compositions include discrete oil particles that are enclosed within a solid coating and dispersed in an aqueous phase, wherein each oil particle contains an organic ultraviolet A (UVA) and/or an organic ultraviolet B (UVB) absorbing compound, and optionally a photo stabilizer.